S32304 Stainless Steel vs. ASTM A36 Carbon Steel
Both S32304 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 (3, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is S32304 stainless steel and the bottom bar is ASTM A36 carbon steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 250 | |
| 140 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 28 | |
| 22 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 330 | |
| 200 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.27 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 79 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 440 | |
| 300 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 670 | |
| 480 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 460 | |
| 290 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 290 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 1050 | |
| 400 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1380 | |
| 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 15 | |
| 50 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 11 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 2.2 | |
| 12 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 2.5 | |
| 14 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 14 | |
| 1.8 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.7 | |
| 7.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 2.8 | |
| 1.4 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 40 | |
| 18 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 160 | |
| 44 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 170 | |
| 92 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 520 | |
| 220 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 24 | |
| 17 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 | |
| 17 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.0 | |
| 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 18 | |
| 16 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.26 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 21.5 to 24.5 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0.050 to 0.6 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 65 to 75.4 | |
| 99.25 to 100 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 2.5 | |
| 0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.050 to 0.6 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 3.0 to 5.5 | |
| 0 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0.050 to 0.2 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 1.0 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |