AISI 321 Stainless Steel vs. ASTM A285 Carbon Steel
Both AISI 321 stainless steel and ASTM A285 carbon steel are iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is AISI 321 stainless steel and the bottom bar is ASTM A285 carbon steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 170 to 210 | |
| 110 to 130 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 34 to 50 | |
| 30 to 34 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 220 to 270 | |
| 150 to 180 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 77 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 420 to 460 | |
| 250 to 290 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 590 to 690 | |
| 380 to 450 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 220 to 350 | |
| 190 to 230 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 290 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 870 | |
| 400 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1430 | |
| 1470 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1400 | |
| 1420 to 1430 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 16 | |
| 53 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 17 | |
| 12 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 2.4 | |
| 7.0 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 2.7 | |
| 8.0 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 16 | |
| 1.8 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 3.2 | |
| 1.4 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 45 | |
| 18 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 140 | |
| 46 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 190 to 230 | |
| 110 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 130 to 310 | |
| 94 to 150 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 21 to 25 | |
| 13 to 16 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 20 to 22 | |
| 15 to 17 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.1 | |
| 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 13 to 15 | |
| 12 to 14 |