SAE-AISI M4 Steel vs. S38815 Stainless Steel
Both SAE-AISI M4 steel and S38815 stainless steel are iron alloys. They have 68% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 20 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (11, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI M4 steel and the bottom bar is S38815 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 190 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 76 | |
| 74 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 770 to 2150 | |
| 610 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 260 | |
| 370 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1610 | |
| 1360 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1560 | |
| 1310 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 440 | |
| 500 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 15 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 25 | |
| 19 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 8.3 | |
| 7.5 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 14 | |
| 3.8 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 210 | |
| 54 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 110 | |
| 140 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 30 | |
| 18 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 23 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 26 to 72 | |
| 22 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 23 to 45 | |
| 21 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 24 to 68 | |
| 15 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |
| Carbon (C), % | 1.3 to 1.4 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 3.8 to 4.8 | |
| 13 to 15 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0.75 to 1.5 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 75.9 to 81.4 | |
| 56.1 to 67 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.15 to 0.4 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 4.3 to 5.5 | |
| 0.75 to 1.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 13 to 17 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.2 to 0.45 | |
| 5.5 to 6.5 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |
| Tungsten (W), % | 5.3 to 6.5 | |
| 0 |
| Vanadium (V), % | 3.8 to 4.5 | |
| 0 |