Stainless Steel Surfaces: A Guide to Alloys, Finishes, Fabrication and Maintenance in Architecture and Art (Architectural Metals Series)

A full-color guide for architects and design professionals to the selection and application of stainless steel Stainless Steel Surfaces offers an authoritative and comprehensive guide to the application of stainless steel to create surfaces for building exteriors, interiors, and art finishes. The first volume in Zahner's Architectural Metals Series , the book is a visual, full-color book filled with the information needed to ensure proper maintenance of stainless steel and suggestions for fabrication techniques. The author--a noted expert in the field--covers a range of topics including the history of the metal, choosing the right alloy, information on a variety of surface and chemical finishes, and facts on corrosion resistance. Stainless Steel Surfaces is filled with illustrative case studies that offer strategies for designing and executing successful projects using stainless steel. All the books in the Zahner's Architectural Metals Series offer in-depth coverage of today's most commonly used metals in architecture and art. This important book: • Contains a comprehensive guide to the use and maintenance of stainless steel surfaces in architecture and art • Features full-color images of a range of stainless steel finishes, colors, textures, and forms • Presents case studies with performance data that feature strategies on how to design and execute successful projects using stainless steel • Offers methods to address corrosion, before and after it occurs • Discusses the environmental impact of stainless steel from the creation process through application • Explains the significance of the different alloys and the forms available to the designer • Discusses what to expect when using stainless steel in various exposures Architecture professionals, metal fabricators, developers, architecture students and instructors, designers, and artists working with metals, Stainless Steel Surfaces offers a logical framework for the selection and application of stainless steel in all aspects of architecture. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface xi Chapter 1 Introduction to Stainless Steel 1 Stainless Steel 1 History 9 Modern Production 10 Environmental, Safety, and Hygiene 13 Stainless Steel for the Arts 15 Chapter 2 Alloys 23 Alloys 23 Alloying Elements 24 Tempers and Heat Treatment 27 Stainless Steel Classifications 28 Austenitic Stainless Steels 29 Magnetism and Magnetic Permeability 31 Ferritic Stainless Steels 32 Martensitic Stainless Steels 32 Precipitation-Hardened Stainless Steel 33 Duplex Stainless Steels 34 Choosing the Right Alloy 35 Architectural Alloys: Wrought Sheet, Plate, Bar, Rod, Pipe, Tube, and Wire 38 Architectural Cast Alloys 52 Chapter 3 Surface Finishes 57 Metallic Luster 57 Finish on the Surface 58 Natural Color 59 One Side Prime for Flat Products 63 The Need for a Clean Surface 64 Anti-Fingerprint Coatings 65 Post-Finishing Protection 65 Stainless Steel Finishes 66 Mill Finishes 67 Mechanical Finishes 73 Directional Finishes 74 Non-Directional Finishes 82 Custom Mechanical Finishes 89 Highly Custom Surface Finishes 91 Mirror Finishes 93 Plastic Deformation Surface Finishes 95 "Water" Finish 96 Embossing 96 Selective Embossing 98 Coining 100 Chemical Finishes: Coloring of Stainless Steel 101 Electropolishing: Brightening the Finish 115 Etching 118 Bluing 119 Chapter 4 Expectations of the Stainless Steel Surface 123 Reflectivity: Brightness and Intensity 123 Surface Finish and Reflectivity 135 Arriving At Objective Criteria 143 Flatness 145 The True Nature of the Metal 147 Effects of Fabrication 149 Effects of Temperature Changes 152 The Relationship Between Thickness and Flatness 155 Prototype Viewing Protocol 157 Texturing to Improve Flatness 157 Standards of Flatness 159 Grain Direction 164 Grain Size and Surface Clarity 167 Alloying Constituents and Surface Clarity 168 External Variables: Energy of Light Source 170 External Variables: Angle of Illumination 172 Surface Finish and Per Alloys -- Surface finishes -- Expectations of the stainless steel surface -- Designing with the available forms -- Fabrication processes -- Corrosion resistance characteristics -- Maintaining the stainless steel surface