The devastation of the 1989 Newcastle earthquake resulted in a revision of standards specifying building materials and products to be used in differing environments. 

One of the products that came under close scrutiny was wall ties (also known as brick ties).

Assessment of the damage after the earthquake found that many walls had 'peeled away' from building structures due to deteriorated wall ties.

A wall tie connects masonry to the structural backing which supports the wall. The most common wall ties are manufactured out of galvanised steel.

Australian Standard AS 3700 - 1998 revised the conditions under which wall ties

Stainless steels are now cheaper than ever, but there is still room to minimise costs (see Table 1), which will improve the bottom line for individual companies, projects and the industry as a whole.

Australia is a relatively 'small fish' in the global stainless industry and, without the benefit of local stainless steel production, loses some flexibility on product availability. Unless you're a very large consumer of stainless steel to a single specification or Standard, ordering to common specifications will reduce costs and increase availability of products.

Suppliers are likely to have products to common specifications. Ordering them reduces the

Stainless steel forms a significant part of a beef abattoir, including the conveyors, fixed and elevated platforms, sterilisers, chutes, hand wash basins and, of late, water supply and wastewater piping. The stainless component may now expand even further in new abattoirs with the recent development of cast stainless steel skids and forged hooks for use on dressing conveyors.

Dressing conveyors in beef abattoirs traditionally use rollers rather than a skid system or, in some cases, extruded aluminium skids and hooks are used. Both of these systems have limited service lives due to the weight of the beasts. They also result

Kuala Lumpur's new international airport terminal will open within a month and travellers will be sheltered by a A$17 million stainless steel roof which has largely been developed by Australian expertise and innovation.

The roof profile of the contact piers and air bridges (60,000m² total area) had to satisfy a number of criteria, including rainwater runoff, resistance to wind uplift, and a smooth, painted appearance. The roof area comprises a composite system with an outer metal membrane of fully-welded stainless steel. Further complicating the design, the architect (MJAC) wanted to avoid valley gutters on the roof's curves.

Around 280

A pilot magnesium processing plant is currently under production in Gladstone, using unique technology developed in Australia and incorporating a significant stainless steel component.

The Australian Magnesium (AM) process (now owned by the Australian Magnesium Corporation - Brisbane, Qld) was jointly developed by Queensland Metals Corporation (QMC - Brisbane, Qld) and CSIRO to process the type of magnesite ore discovered by QMC near Rockhampton into highly pure magnesium metal.

The process incorporates a number of patented features which will be demonstrated and refined at the pilot plant in Gladstone on its completion in mid-1998. The AM process involves the use

Sydney's recently redeveloped Chifley Square now pays tribute to its namesake in a dramatic, yet personable, manner - an 8m tall stainless steel sculpture of Ben Chifley towers over the square, forming part of City of Sydney's capital works program in the lead up to the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Sydney artist Simeon Nelson designed 'Ben Chifley' and a glass and stainless steel wall on the site while working as part of the multi-disciplinary design team involved in the site's $3 million redevelopment. Hassell architects (Sydney) were given open guidelines for the design of the site, but two of the objectives

A stainless steel mesh sculpture created by jeweller/designer, Barbara Heath is a focal point of the Neville Bonner Building in Brisbane. 

Stainless steel was chosen for the sculpture for its durability and low maintenance properties. This was important because the sculpture is mounted on the building exterior, exposed to marine weather conditions.

The 'high tech', contemporary look that was achieved with stainless also compliments the other metals used on the building.

The themes of the seven metre artwork are office networks, family links and team work. It refers to the history of the area with the design reflecting fishing nets

When the United States Navy required 35 lightweight transportable recompression chambers in the late 1980s, Cowan Manufacturing took up the challenge of developing the units. 

Cowan Manufacturing developed a prototype out of a virtually unknown material. It was duplex 2205 (UNS 31803) stainless steel.

No other manufacturer in the world was producing chambers out of 2205 and, after six years of negotiations, Cowan was sourced as the sole supplier of the chambers.

Cowan chose 2205 for its high strength, light weight and corrosion resistant properties. This enabled them to meet the Navy's requirements without the weight and corrosion problems of

Queensland Rail has achieved international recognition for its use of stainless steel in coal wagons by winning the ferritic stainless steel category in the Stainless Steel Awards in South Africa recently.

Entrants were judged on criteria including usage, application, substitution, growth, fitness for purpose, cost saving and effectiveness of solutions.

The award recognised Queensland Rail's use of weldable UNS S41 003 stainless steel as the preferred material for coal wagons. These wagons have performed successfully for 10 years.

According to Queensland Rail, the stainless has proven to be long lasting and low maintenance in comparison to aluminium and carbon steel

The Regency Institute of TAFE (Elizabeth Campus) in Adelaide has developed an exciting new course that will 'bridge the gap' in knowledge about the welding and fabrication of stainless steel.

Until now there have been only three fabrication and welding training modules available in Australia and they have all applied to light sheet metal. The need for a practical course to teach skills for heavier gauge stainless steel was identified by the Regency Institute of TAFE.

After close consultation with industry, the Regency Institute developed new modules that will fill this need by teaching skills appropriate for upskilling of existing

15 million dollars worth of stainless steel has been used to construct the largest rotary fermentation area in Australia.

The facility at Southcorp's Karadoc Winery in Victoria comprises 88 stainless steel red grade processing tanks, pipes and tubes, brine jackets and rotary fermenters.

Southcorp Wines Engineering Manager (Eastern Region) Geoff Leighton said stainless steel was preferred by the wine industry because it is "corrosion resistant, provides a stable environment for the wine, is easy to clean and maintain and has a long service life."

Grade 304 stainless steel was used for the tanks, with a thickness range of 2mm -

When the Gold Coast City Council was seeking a stable and visually stunning medium for use on their Kirra Point board walk project, they looked no further than stainless steel!

Geoff Clemence, Design Coordinator, said Council engineers chose stainless steel for the upright posts and moveable hand rail system for safety, corrosion resistance and aesthetic reasons.

"Stainless is far superior to wooden handrails in terms of safety and lasting life and will require far less maintenance," Mr Clemence said.

"From an aesthetic point of view, the stainless steel fits in beautifully with both the concrete pavement and the timber board

75 tonnes of stainless steel has been used to replace the floor in an enormous tank at QNI Limited's Yabulu Refinery near Townsville in North Queensland.

The tank is one of a series of seven thickener tanks, each of which is 50 metres in diameter. The purpose of the tanks is to form a counter current decant wash circuit for leached ore. Solid tailings are separated from liquor streams in the tanks which act as large settling devices, separating leached ore from a leached solution for the recovery of nickel and cobalt.

When the floor plate of one of the

As we pack up our Christmas decorations, vow to lose those extra kilos gained over the holidays and make plans for the new year, the festive season seems so long ago - not so far for travellers and pedestrians on St Kilda Road in Melbourne.

Perched in front of Central Equity's three new apartment buildings are 12 three metre tall stainless steel trees which, although not specifically designed as Christmas trees, have stylised conical shapes that have a distinctly Christmas 'feel' about them.

Central Equity commissioned Phillip Naughton of Design Inferno to design the trees to complement the prestigious $123

The common austenitic grades of stainless steel, 304 and 316, are also available with controlled low or high carbon contents, know as "L" and "H" variants, with particular applications.

Low carbon or "L" grades are used to prevent or delay sensitisation  of stainless steel at elevated temperatures and the resulting lower corrosion resistance. The problematic temperature zone is 450-850 °C, encountered during welding or specific application environments. "L" grades are often available in thicker selection sizes, greater than about 5mm in flat products.

High carbon or "H" grades are used for higher strength.

Substitution between standard, "L" and "H" grades

New (and extended) life has been injected into a Brisbane landmark courtesy of a stainless make over worth about $1.2 million. 

In an application believed to be the first of its kind in Queensland, engineers have used grade 316 stainless steel to replace the bearings on Brisbane's Victoria Bridge.

The transition from original carbon steel to stainless has increased the service life of the bearings to at least 50 years from 30 years, giving the Brisbane City Council at least 20 years before the enormous labour and logistical costs of servicing bearings is required.

he bridge, opened in 1969, spans

A Melbourne artist and designer is using stainless steel to blur the lines between form and functionality. 

Colin Kirkpatrick from Modifie Designs adapts geometric shapes inspired by sculpture to create works that can transform from conversation pieces to coffee tables in seconds.

Cubes and three dimensional rectangular shapes are fabricated from grade 304 stainless steel sheeting welded to a timber subframe, then attached to castors for mobility and versatility.

The custom-sized shapes can be used as either furniture or sculpture and as a single unit or separated into individual pieces.

The Modifie range also includes coffee tables with stainless steel

When millions around the world watch the Sydney Olympic Games this September, they will also be experiencing the best of Australian architecture, with particular emphasis on stainless steel.

Stadium Australia, located at Homebush Bay in Sydney's inner city in the centrepiece of the Olympic site. Here, events such as the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field program will be played out. Closer examination of the sit reveals the use of stainless steel in a myriad of applications, both aesthetic and functional. Perhaps more importantly, the use of stainless steel helps meet the organiser's "green" commitment: to use

Sports fans trekking to Melbourne's Colonial Stadium will enter the ground via a 200 metre long, 20 metre wide bridge shrouded in stainless. 

The Bourke Street Pedestrian Bridge, which connects Spencer Street Station to the eastern entrance of the $460 million sporting arena, opened in March 2000, makes extensive use of stainless steel to stunning effect.

A 200 metre long canopy comprising 14 rolled cascading stainless steel sheets divided in sections by red coated curved steel antlers protects pedestrians queuing on the south side of the bridge. The antlers, made from carbon steel, provide lighting and primary support to the

1,200 tonnes of stainless steel plate and coil and over 47,000 metres of stainless steel pipe and tube has been used in the construction of a new $400 million unbleached pulp and paper mill in Tumut, New South Wales. 

The Visy Pulp and Paper Mill will produce 240,000 tonnes of unbleached kraft pulp and packaging paper annually, to be supplied to domestic and overseas markets.

Raw materials for the plant will come from local plantation timber sawmill residues and pulp materials from softwood plantations, and supplemented by domestic and commercially derived waste paper. The plant is being built using the