Stainless steel has its special performance characteristics; these cover the excellent mechanics performance under normal, high and low temperature, the matching of high strength and excellent tenacity, high hardness and high abrasion resistance; the excellent corrosion resistance under severe corrosive conditions, non-rust, non-magnetic, excellent cold forming performance, the machined steel type and the brand are also covered. Obviously, under various service conditions, the matching steel type and brand could always be found. So, the stainless steel has been widely used in various industry departments including chemistry, petrochemical industry and petroleum exploitation, transportation, nuclear industry, power, textiles, space flight and aviation, electronics and appliances, food, medicine, paper making, etc., and it is the necessary and irreplaceable metal material in some areas. Besides, for the decorative character and its easy cleaning , anti-bacterium character, the stainless steel has a wide application in the consumption area, for example, in architecture decoration, kitchen ware, dishware, civil hardware, etc.

The consumption situations of stainless steel in western developed country are shown in the following table. It can be seen that industrial engineering is the main consumption area of stainless steel.

The stainless steel consumption structure of western industrialized nations

Application area	Proportion in stainless steel consumption, %
Consumption area	30
White consumable	10
Vessels	10
drainage slot	5
other	5
industry project	70
chemistry, petrochemical industry, petroleum and gas industry	17
food, beverage and kitchen equipments	19
transportation (road, railway, sea transportation)	12
drive and power	7
paper pulp , paper making, textiles	7
architecture	7
other	3