Stainless steel alone. Stainless steel, due to its superior corrosion resistance relative to most other metals, including steel and aluminum, becomes the cathode accelerating the corrosion of the anodic metal. An example is the corrosion of aluminum rivets fastening stainless steel sheets in contact with water. At elevated temperatures all metals react with hot gases. The most common high temperature gaseous mixture is air, and oxygen is the most reactive component of air. Carbon steel is limited to ~ in air. Chromium in stainless steel reacts with oxygen to form a chromium oxide scale which reduces oxygen diffusion into the material. The
Stainless steel can be deformed, broken and removed from parts of the component, exposing bare reactive metal. When the two surfaces are the same material, these exposed surfaces can easily fuse together. Separation of the two surfaces can result in surface tearing and even complete seizure of metal components or fasteners. Galling can be mitigated by the use of dissimilar materials (bronze against stainless steel), or using different stainless steels (martensitic against austenitic). Additionally, threaded joints may be lubricated to provide a film between the two parts and prevent galling. Also, Nitronic 60, made by selective alloying with manganese, silicon and nitrogen,