AISI 321 Stainless Steel vs. Grade CU5MCuC Nickel
AISI 321 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while grade CU5MCuC nickel belongs to the nickel alloys. They have 59% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 26 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (7, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is AISI 321 stainless steel and the bottom bar is grade CU5MCuC nickel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 34 to 50 | |
| 22 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 220 to 270 | |
| 170 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 77 | |
| 77 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 590 to 690 | |
| 580 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 220 to 350 | |
| 270 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 290 | |
| 310 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 870 | |
| 980 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1430 | |
| 1420 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1400 | |
| 1370 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
| 460 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 17 | |
| 13 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 16 | |
| 45 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 8.2 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 3.2 | |
| 7.7 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 45 | |
| 110 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 140 | |
| 230 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 19 | |
| 31 |
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 190 to 230 | |
| 110 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 130 to 310 | |
| 190 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 21 to 25 | |
| 20 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 20 to 22 | |
| 19 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 13 to 15 | |
| 16 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.080 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 17 to 19 | |
| 19.5 to 23.5 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 1.5 to 3.5 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 65.3 to 74 | |
| 22.2 to 37.9 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 2.0 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 2.5 to 3.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 9.0 to 12 | |
| 38 to 44 |
| Niobium (Nb), % | 0 | |
| 0.6 to 1.2 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.045 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.75 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 to 0.7 | |
| 0 |