AISI 316 Stainless Steel vs. AISI 316L Stainless Steel
Both AISI 316 stainless steel and AISI 316L stainless steel are iron alloys. Their average alloy composition is basically identical. There are 35 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is AISI 316 stainless steel and the bottom bar is AISI 316L stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 160 to 360 | |
| 170 to 350 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 8.0 to 55 | |
| 9.0 to 50 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 210 to 430 | |
| 170 to 450 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.28 |
| Rockwell B Hardness | 80 | |
| 80 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 78 | |
| 78 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 350 to 690 | |
| 370 to 690 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 520 to 1180 | |
| 530 to 1160 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 230 to 850 | |
| 190 to 870 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 290 | |
| 290 |
| Maximum Temperature: Corrosion, °C | 410 | |
| 410 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 590 | |
| 870 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1400 | |
| 1400 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1380 | |
| 1380 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 15 | |
| 15 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 16 | |
| 16 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 2.3 | |
| 2.3 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 2.6 | |
| 2.6 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 19 | |
| 19 |
| Calomel Potential, mV | -50 | |
| -50 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 7.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 3.9 | |
| 3.9 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 53 | |
| 53 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 150 | |
| 150 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 26 | |
| 26 |
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 85 to 260 | |
| 77 to 230 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 130 to 1820 | |
| 93 to 1880 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 18 to 41 | |
| 19 to 41 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 18 to 31 | |
| 18 to 31 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.1 | |
| 4.1 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 11 to 26 | |
| 12 to 25 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.080 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 16 to 18 | |
| 16 to 18 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 62 to 72 | |
| 62 to 72 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 2.0 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 2.0 to 3.0 | |
| 2.0 to 3.0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 10 to 14 | |
| 10 to 14 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.045 | |
| 0 to 0.045 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.75 | |
| 0 to 0.75 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |