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AISI 304 Stainless Steel vs. ASTM A321 Carbon Steel

Both AISI 304 stainless steel and ASTM A321 carbon steel are iron alloys. They have 71% 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 304 stainless steel and the bottom bar is ASTM A321 carbon steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 170 to 360
190
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 200
190
Elongation at Break, % 8.0 to 43
21
Fatigue Strength, MPa 210 to 440
270
Poisson's Ratio 0.28
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 77
73
Shear Strength, MPa 400 to 690
420
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 580 to 1180
670
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 230 to 860
390

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 290
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 710
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1450
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1400
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 480
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 16
51
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 17
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 2.4
7.1
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 2.7
8.1

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 15
1.8
Density, g/cm3 7.8
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 3.0
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 43
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 150
46

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 86 to 250
120
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 140 to 1870
400
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 25
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 21 to 42
24
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 20 to 32
22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 4.2
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 12 to 25
21

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.080
0 to 0.55
Chromium (Cr), % 18 to 20
0
Iron (Fe), % 66.5 to 74
98.1 to 99.25
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 2.0
0.6 to 0.9
Nickel (Ni), % 8.0 to 10.5
0
Nitrogen (N), % 0 to 0.1
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.045
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.75
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0 to 0.050