MakeItFrom.com
Menu (ESC)

ASTM A36 Carbon Steel vs. AISI 420 Stainless Steel

Both ASTM A36 carbon steel and AISI 420 stainless steel are iron alloys. They have 85% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 420 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 140
190
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
190
Elongation at Break, % 22
8.0 to 15
Fatigue Strength, MPa 200
220 to 670
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
76
Shear Strength, MPa 300
420 to 1010
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 480
690 to 1720
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 290
380 to 1310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
280
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 400
620
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
1510
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
1450
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 50
27
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 11
10

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 12
3.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 14
3.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 1.8
7.5
Density, g/cm3 7.9
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.4
2.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 18
28
Embodied Water, L/kg 44
100

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 92
88 to 130
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220
380 to 4410
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17
25 to 62
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 17
22 to 41
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 14
7.3
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 16
25 to 62

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.26
0.15 to 0.4
Chromium (Cr), % 0
12 to 14
Iron (Fe), % 99.25 to 100
82.3 to 87.9
Manganese (Mn), % 0
0 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.75
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.050
0 to 0.030