AISI 304 Stainless Steel vs. Reactor Grade Zirconium
AISI 304 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while reactor grade zirconium belongs to the otherwise unclassified metals. There are 20 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (14, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is AISI 304 stainless steel and the bottom bar is reactor grade zirconium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 98 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 8.0 to 43 | |
| 21 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.34 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 77 | |
| 37 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 580 to 1180 | |
| 330 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 230 to 860 | |
| 160 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 290 | |
| 250 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
| 270 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 16 | |
| 22 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 17 | |
| 5.9 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 6.5 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 150 | |
| 280 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 86 to 250 | |
| 56 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 140 to 1870 | |
| 130 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 8.4 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 21 to 42 | |
| 14 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 20 to 32 | |
| 16 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.2 | |
| 13 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 12 to 25 | |
| 41 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.080 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 18 to 20 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 66.5 to 74 | |
| 0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 2.0 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 8.0 to 10.5 | |
| 0 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.045 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.75 | |
| 0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 0 | |
| 99.7 to 100 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.27 |