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ASTM A36 Carbon Steel vs. AISI 304L Stainless Steel

Both ASTM A36 carbon steel and AISI 304L stainless steel are iron alloys. They have 70% 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 ASTM A36 carbon steel and the bottom bar is AISI 304L stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 140
160 to 350
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
200
Elongation at Break, % 22
6.7 to 46
Fatigue Strength, MPa 200
170 to 430
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
77
Shear Strength, MPa 300
370 to 680
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 480
540 to 1160
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 290
190 to 870

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 400
540
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 50
16
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 11
17

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 12
2.4
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 14
2.7

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 1.8
16
Density, g/cm3 7.9
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.4
3.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 18
44
Embodied Water, L/kg 44
150

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 92
71 to 240
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220
92 to 1900
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17
19 to 41
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 17
19 to 31
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 14
4.2
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 16
12 to 25

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.26
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0
18 to 20
Iron (Fe), % 99.25 to 100
65 to 74
Manganese (Mn), % 0
0 to 2.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
8.0 to 12
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0 to 0.1
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0 to 0.045
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0 to 0.75
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.050
0 to 0.030