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AISI 304L Stainless Steel vs. ASTM A36 Carbon Steel

Both AISI 304L stainless steel and ASTM A36 carbon 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 AISI 304L stainless steel and the bottom bar is ASTM A36 carbon steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

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

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 290
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 540
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
50
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 17
11

Electrical Properties

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

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

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

Common Calculations

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

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.030
0 to 0.26
Chromium (Cr), % 18 to 20
0
Iron (Fe), % 65 to 74
99.25 to 100
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 2.0
0
Nickel (Ni), % 8.0 to 12
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 to 0.4
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0 to 0.050