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Stainless steel beneath our feet
The in-ground infrastructure woven into our cities often goes unnoticed, but it plays an essential role in how we live. Drains, maintenance access points, and manhole covers must reliably function in harsh urban conditions, while integrating seamlessly with their surroundings. When made from molybdenum-containing stainless steel, these fixtures can hold up beautifully year after year.
© Nicole Kinsman
Systems that help keep a city clean, connected, and safe like sewers and underground utilities are hidden from view. Under sidewalks and plazas, they guide stormwater, deliver power, carry drinking water and transmit data through fiber-optic cables. Their only trace above ground is a scattered pattern of grilles, lids, and hatches. These surface elements are more than just access points; they are the front line between infrastructure and the urban environment. Their job is to work reliably in the background, under pressure, through all weather, for decades. The need for durability in multiple dimensions makes molybdenum-containing stainless steel a robust choice for these components.
Strength beneath the surface
The urban environment is unforgiving. Fixtures must withstand moisture, deicing salts, acidic soils, organic debris, and constant physical wear. Type 316 stainless steel, containing 2% molybdenum, offers an ideal combination of strength and corrosion resistance for these conditions. Molybdenum significantly boosts resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion – critical in wet, salty, or polluted surroundings. It helps prevent rust and staining, ensuring that fixtures stay clean, safe, and low-maintenance even under heavy use. In drainage systems, this means more than avoiding rust. It means avoiding the buildup of corrosion products that can clog inlets or contaminate stormwater.
To find out more about molybdenum’s critical role in in-ground infrastructure visit here.
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