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AISI 420 Stainless Steel vs. ASTM A321 Carbon Steel

Both AISI 420 stainless steel and ASTM A321 carbon steel are iron alloys. They have 86% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, in this case) are not shown.

For each property being compared, the top bar is AISI 420 stainless steel and the bottom bar is ASTM A321 carbon steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 190
190
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
190
Elongation at Break, % 8.0 to 15
21
Fatigue Strength, MPa 220 to 670
270
Poisson's Ratio 0.28
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 76
73
Shear Strength, MPa 420 to 1010
420
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 690 to 1720
670
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 380 to 1310
390

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 280
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 620
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1510
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1450
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 480
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 27
51
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 10
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 3.0
7.1
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 3.5
8.1

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 7.5
1.8
Density, g/cm3 7.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 2.0
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 28
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 100
46

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 88 to 130
120
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 380 to 4410
400
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 25
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 25 to 62
24
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 22 to 41
22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 7.3
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 25 to 62
21

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0.15 to 0.4
0 to 0.55
Chromium (Cr), % 12 to 14
0
Iron (Fe), % 82.3 to 87.9
98.1 to 99.25
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 1.0
0.6 to 0.9
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0 to 0.5
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.75
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 1.0
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0 to 0.050