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AISI 316 Stainless Steel vs. Graphite

AISI 316 stainless steel and graphite belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. AISI 316 stainless steel is a metal, while graphite is a ceramic material. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 13 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (25, in this case) are not shown. Please note that the two materials have significantly dissimilar densities. This means that additional care is required when interpreting the data, because some material properties are based on units of mass, while others are based on units of area or volume.

For each property being compared, the top bar is AISI 316 stainless steel and the bottom bar is graphite.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 200
21
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 520 to 1180
18

Thermal Properties

Maximum Temperature: Corrosion, °C 410
180
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 590
220
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 15
6.0
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 16
4.9

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Calomel Potential, mV -50
250
Density, g/cm3 7.9
1.8

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
6.7
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 25
53
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 18 to 41
2.9
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 18 to 31
8.7
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 11 to 26
12