AISI 301 Stainless Steel vs. ASTM A387 Grade 21 Steel
Both AISI 301 stainless steel and ASTM A387 grade 21 steel are iron alloys. They have 78% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 32 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 301 stainless steel and the bottom bar is ASTM A387 grade 21 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness | 190 to 440 | |
150 to 180 |
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
190 |
Elongation at Break, % | 7.4 to 46 | |
21 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 210 to 600 | |
160 to 250 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
0.29 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 77 | |
74 |
Shear Strength, MPa | 410 to 860 | |
310 to 370 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 590 to 1460 | |
500 to 590 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 230 to 1080 | |
230 to 350 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 280 | |
260 |
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 840 | |
480 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1420 | |
1470 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1400 | |
1430 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
470 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 16 | |
41 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 17 | |
13 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 2.4 | |
7.6 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 2.7 | |
8.8 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 13 | |
4.1 |
Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
7.9 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 2.7 | |
1.8 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 39 | |
23 |
Embodied Water, L/kg | 130 | |
62 |
Common Calculations
PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 18 | |
6.4 |
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 99 to 300 | |
84 to 110 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 130 to 2970 | |
140 to 320 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
13 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
24 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 21 to 52 | |
18 to 21 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 20 to 37 | |
18 to 20 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.2 | |
11 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 12 to 31 | |
14 to 17 |
Alloy Composition
Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.15 | |
0.050 to 0.15 |
Chromium (Cr), % | 16 to 18 | |
2.8 to 3.3 |
Iron (Fe), % | 70.7 to 78 | |
94.4 to 96 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 2.0 | |
0.3 to 0.6 |
Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
0.9 to 1.1 |
Nickel (Ni), % | 6.0 to 8.0 | |
0 |
Nitrogen (N), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
0 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.045 | |
0 to 0.025 |
Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 1.0 | |
0 to 0.5 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
0 to 0.025 |