AISI 301L Stainless Steel vs. AISI 321 Stainless Steel
Both AISI 301L stainless steel and AISI 321 stainless steel are iron alloys. They have a very high 95% of their average alloy composition in common.
For each property being compared, the top bar is AISI 301L stainless steel and the bottom bar is AISI 321 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 210 to 320 | |
| 170 to 210 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 22 to 50 | |
| 34 to 50 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 240 to 530 | |
| 220 to 270 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 77 | |
| 77 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 440 to 660 | |
| 420 to 460 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 620 to 1040 | |
| 590 to 690 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 250 to 790 | |
| 220 to 350 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 280 | |
| 290 |
| Maximum Temperature: Corrosion, °C | 410 | |
| 480 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 890 | |
| 870 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1430 | |
| 1430 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1390 | |
| 1400 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
| 480 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 15 | |
| 16 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 16 | |
| 17 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 2.3 | |
| 2.4 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 2.7 | |
| 2.7 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 13 | |
| 16 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 2.7 | |
| 3.2 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 39 | |
| 45 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 130 | |
| 140 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 19 | |
| 19 |
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 210 to 300 | |
| 190 to 230 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 160 to 1580 | |
| 130 to 310 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 22 to 37 | |
| 21 to 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 21 to 29 | |
| 20 to 22 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.1 | |
| 4.1 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 24 | |
| 13 to 15 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.080 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 16 to 18 | |
| 17 to 19 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 70.7 to 78 | |
| 65.3 to 74 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 2.0 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 6.0 to 8.0 | |
| 9.0 to 12 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.045 | |
| 0 to 0.045 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 1.0 | |
| 0 to 0.75 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.7 |