AISI 304 Stainless Steel vs. AISI 303 Stainless Steel
Both AISI 304 stainless steel and AISI 303 stainless steel are iron alloys. They have a very high 99% of their average alloy composition in common.
For each property being compared, the top bar is AISI 304 stainless steel and the bottom bar is AISI 303 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 170 to 360 | |
| 170 to 210 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 8.0 to 43 | |
| 40 to 51 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 210 to 440 | |
| 230 to 360 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 77 | |
| 77 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 400 to 690 | |
| 430 to 470 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 580 to 1180 | |
| 600 to 690 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 230 to 860 | |
| 230 to 420 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 290 | |
| 290 |
| Maximum Temperature: Corrosion, °C | 420 | |
| 410 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 710 | |
| 930 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1450 | |
| 1450 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1400 | |
| 1400 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
| 480 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 16 | |
| 16 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 17 | |
| 17 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 2.4 | |
| 2.4 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 2.7 | |
| 2.8 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 15 | |
| 15 |
| Calomel Potential, mV | -80 | |
| -80 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 3.0 | |
| 3.0 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 43 | |
| 42 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 150 | |
| 140 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 20 | |
| 18 |
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 86 to 250 | |
| 240 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 140 to 1870 | |
| 140 to 440 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 21 to 42 | |
| 21 to 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 20 to 32 | |
| 20 to 22 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.2 | |
| 4.4 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 12 to 25 | |
| 13 to 15 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.080 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 18 to 20 | |
| 17 to 19 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 66.5 to 74 | |
| 67.3 to 74.9 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 2.0 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 8.0 to 10.5 | |
| 8.0 to 10 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.045 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.75 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0.15 to 0.35 |