Most of us come across aluminum foil in our daily lives; particularly in the kitchen where we call it “cooking foil”. It is a cheap, “one use only” material handy for both wrapping up the turkey to improve its cooking in the oven or as a preservative wrap for the cold meat. It has a big advantage in so much as it is easily deformed around the shape it is wrapping.
However, we are less likely to come across the same sort of thing but in the form of 316 Stainless Steel Foil Sheets. Not only because it would be harder and less flexible but also because its price could be prohibitive for a “throw away” item.
So, What Is Stainless Steel?
It is more or less what its name implies but should really be thought of as steel with enhanced resistance to corrosion. Iron rusts very easily, adding carbon to iron produces steel which can still rust or be attacked by chemicals. Adding the likes of chromium or nickel to the steel increases its resistance to rusting and other chemical attack.
In standard nomenclature, 316 stainless steel is the base identification number for a range of austenitic chromium-nickel alloy steels with added molybdenum for increased corrosion resistance. It is the second most commonly used stainless steel and is sometimes referred to as “marine” or “surgical” grade. When other alloying elements are added, this is shown by a suffix – such as 316Ti for added titanium. Often users prefer 316 with a lower carbon content and this is specified as 316L. Although consumption of 304 grade stainless is higher, 316 grades possess better strength at elevated temperatures (although they are more expensive than 304).
And, What Is Foil?
Stainless steel can be rolled into long wide strips (hence the term strip mill). The width and length depend upon the manufacturing equipment but the thickness can be varied. When the finished strip is noticeably thin, it is usually referred to as “foil”. Thickness above ¼ of an inch will be called plate and often manufactured by a different process than the strip.
Quite how thick 316 Stainless Steel Foil has to be before it stops being called foil is not completely clear but, the fact that the steel mills produce it does show that there must be a market for it. While it is unlikely to be purchased for use as cooking foil, it does have many industrial and manufacturing uses – even as far as foil type electric razors.
