AISI 304N Stainless Steel vs. AISI 304L Stainless Steel
Both AISI 304N stainless steel and AISI 304L stainless steel are iron alloys. Their average alloy composition is basically identical. There are 33 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is AISI 304N stainless steel and the bottom bar is AISI 304L stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 190 to 360 | |
| 160 to 350 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 9.1 to 45 | |
| 6.7 to 46 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 220 to 440 | |
| 170 to 430 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 77 | |
| 77 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 420 to 700 | |
| 370 to 680 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 620 to 1180 | |
| 540 to 1160 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 270 to 850 | |
| 190 to 870 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 290 | |
| 290 |
| Maximum Temperature: Corrosion, °C | 420 | |
| 420 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 960 | |
| 540 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1450 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1380 | |
| 1400 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
| 480 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 16 | |
| 16 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 16 | |
| 17 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 2.4 | |
| 2.4 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 2.7 | |
| 2.7 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 15 | |
| 16 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 3.0 | |
| 3.1 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 43 | |
| 44 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 150 | |
| 150 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 21 | |
| 20 |
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 98 to 280 | |
| 71 to 240 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 180 to 1830 | |
| 92 to 1900 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 22 to 42 | |
| 19 to 41 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 21 to 32 | |
| 19 to 31 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.2 | |
| 4.2 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 26 | |
| 12 to 25 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.080 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 18 to 20 | |
| 18 to 20 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 66.4 to 73.9 | |
| 65 to 74 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 2.0 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 8.0 to 10.5 | |
| 8.0 to 12 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0.1 to 0.16 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.045 | |
| 0 to 0.045 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.75 | |
| 0 to 0.75 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |