A Spain-based technology provider for the ceramics industries, has replaced a conventional austenitic grade with Outokumpu’s duplex LDX 2101® in silos for atomized clay, achieving better durability, corrosion resistance and economy. To be able to handle the clay properly and ensure high product quality, clay suppliers need stainless steel silos for the intermediate storage and distribution of this aqueous product; if made from carbon steel, the silos would corrode and contaminate the clay. Clay silos have traditionally been fabricated from the standard austenitic grade 1.4301/1.4307 (304/304L). With technical assistance and support from Outokumpu’s Spanish team, Talleres Jois convinced Nuevas Atomizadas that LDX 2101® would award them with a long maintenance-free service life. The grade has mechanical strength close to double that of austenitic grades, and better corrosion resistance compared to 1.4301. The strength allows for considerable reductions in material thickness, resulting in major weight savings. LDX 2101® also has a very low nickel content (1.5%). Talleres Jois fabricated the LDX 2101® clay silos for Nuevas Atomizadas from 2.5mm-thick sheet; using 1.4301, sheet thicknesses must be between 3.0mm and 6.0mm. In the conical bottom section of the silos, the fabricator used 4.0mm thickness, down from the traditional 6.0mm. Forty silos were constructed for intermediate storage of atomized clay, as part of the distribution route from the clay supplier to ceramics manufacturers.
