The magnetic properties of stainless steel

STEELS containing varying amounts of nickel and chromium have been found to be resistant to chemical corrosion and oxidation, and for this reason are grouped under the general name of stainless steel. Little thought was given to their adaptability in electromagnetic circuits, as it was a generally accepted fact that most of the nickel-chromium steels were nonmagnetic or relatively poor in magnetic characteristics as compared with silicon steel. However, the manufacturers of solenoid valves encountered so many valve failures in attempting to use regular steel in valves exposed to acid vapors, that they were forced to resort to the magnetically inferior stainless steels. As this is a highly specialized use of stainless steels, it was not surprising that none of the steel companies had available data on their magnetic properties.