Clad steel plates offer versatile solutions to many challenges faced by designers in demanding industries such as construction and chemical processing.
Looking for a steel that’s more corrosion-resistant? Need a material that’s both strong and cost-effective to produce? Clad steel plates are engineered to meet unique requirements, combining the best properties of two metals to create a superior material tailored to specific applications. Before diving into the benefits of clad plates, let’s begin with a clear understanding of what they are.
A clad steel plate is a type of composite steel made by bonding two or more metals together. Common cladding materials include stainless steel, nickel, copper, high-nickel alloys, and copper-nickel alloys. By combining the properties of different metals, clad plates deliver enhanced performance and durability tailored to specific applications.
Clad steel plates are widely used across various industries due to their superior properties. Key applications include:
- Tank and Pressure Vessel Fabrication: Providing strength and corrosion resistance for safe storage and operation.
- Head Plates: Ensuring durability under high stress and corrosive conditions.
- Industrial Scrubbers: Withstanding harsh chemicals in pollution control systems.
- Chemical Transportation and Processing: Offering safety and reliability for handling aggressive substances.
- Desalination Plants: Resisting corrosion in environments exposed to saltwater.
By leveraging the advantages of multiple metals, clad steel plates are a go-to solution for demanding industrial needs.
Clad materials provide significant advantages for heavy industry and chemical processing. By combining different metals, cladding delivers:
- Superior Strength with Reduced Weight and Cost: Ideal for applications where performance and efficiency are critical.
- Enhanced Properties: Depending on the material combination, clad plates offer excellent thermal and electrical conductivity or exceptional corrosion resistance.
These qualities make clad plates indispensable in highly abrasive environments, such as mining, earthmoving, processing, and pumping operations. They are also widely used in paper, pulp, and food processing industries, where durability and resistance to harsh conditions are essential.
In addition to their durability, clad plates offer significant fabrication benefits. They can be cut and formed using various methods, including plasma cutting, drawing, bending, and hot forming. However, punching, drilling, or machining clad plates is notably challenging due to their robust structure.
Clad plates are created by bonding two or more metals into a single steel sheet or plate. Depending on the specific requirements, cladding materials such as specialty metals (e.g., copper or stainless steel) can be roll-bonded or fusion-bonded to a base metal like carbon steel or low-alloy steel, resulting in a metallurgically bonded clad plate.
One of the most common methods for producing clad plates is roll bonding. In this process, the joining surfaces of the metals are first cleaned and brought into contact. The plate edges are then welded to prevent movement and air ingress during the hot rolling process. Once the plate is rolled to the desired thickness, it is cut to its final size and cleaned to achieve a relatively smooth and bright surface.
