AISI 316L Stainless Steel vs. AISI 304L Stainless Steel
Both AISI 316L stainless steel and AISI 304L 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 316L stainless steel and the bottom bar is AISI 304L stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 170 to 350 | |
| 160 to 350 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 9.0 to 50 | |
| 6.7 to 46 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 170 to 450 | |
| 170 to 430 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.28 |
| Rockwell B Hardness | 80 | |
| 79 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 78 | |
| 77 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 370 to 690 | |
| 370 to 680 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 530 to 1160 | |
| 540 to 1160 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 190 to 870 | |
| 190 to 870 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 290 | |
| 290 |
| Maximum Temperature: Corrosion, °C | 410 | |
| 420 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 870 | |
| 540 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1400 | |
| 1450 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1380 | |
| 1400 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 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 | 2.6 | |
| 2.7 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 19 | |
| 16 |
| Calomel Potential, mV | -50 | |
| -80 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 3.9 | |
| 3.1 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 53 | |
| 44 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 150 | |
| 150 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 26 | |
| 20 |
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 77 to 230 | |
| 71 to 240 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 93 to 1880 | |
| 92 to 1900 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 19 to 41 | |
| 19 to 41 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 18 to 31 | |
| 19 to 31 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.1 | |
| 4.2 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 12 to 25 | |
| 12 to 25 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 16 to 18 | |
| 18 to 20 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 62 to 72 | |
| 65 to 74 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 2.0 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 2.0 to 3.0 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 10 to 14 | |
| 8.0 to 12 |
| 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 |