At a municipal water treatment plant, a carbon steel post supporting a 10 by 4 inch I beam had rusted through at the base. The post sits in a splash zone and the original steel did not survive it. The plant did not need a stronger post, it needed one that would last.
We fabricated two assemblies from 3 inch schedule 40 304 stainless pipe, 3.5 inch outside diameter with a 0.216 inch wall, each 148 inches long, with 1/2 by 6 inch 304 end plates welded on both ends using stainless procedures suited to the alloy and the service. Then we went to the plant and set the new posts under the beam.
Posts that will not rust out in the splash zone. A lot of plant steel was never meant for a wet environment, and we replace it in stainless as it fails.
