AISI 321 Stainless Steel vs. SAE-AISI 1046 Steel
Both AISI 321 stainless steel and SAE-AISI 1046 steel are iron alloys. They have 71% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is AISI 321 stainless steel and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1046 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness | 170 to 210 | |
190 to 210 |
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
190 |
Elongation at Break, % | 34 to 50 | |
14 to 17 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 220 to 270 | |
240 to 390 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
0.29 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 77 | |
72 |
Shear Strength, MPa | 420 to 460 | |
410 to 450 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 590 to 690 | |
660 to 740 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 220 to 350 | |
370 to 610 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 290 | |
250 |
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 870 | |
400 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1430 | |
1460 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1400 | |
1420 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
470 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 16 | |
51 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 17 | |
11 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 2.4 | |
11 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 2.7 | |
12 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 16 | |
1.8 |
Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
7.8 |
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 | |
91 to 95 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 130 to 310 | |
360 to 990 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
13 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
24 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 21 to 25 | |
23 to 26 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 20 to 22 | |
22 to 23 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.1 | |
14 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 13 to 15 | |
23 to 25 |
Alloy Composition
Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.080 | |
0.43 to 0.5 |
Chromium (Cr), % | 17 to 19 | |
0 |
Iron (Fe), % | 65.3 to 74 | |
98.4 to 98.9 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 2.0 | |
0.7 to 1.0 |
Nickel (Ni), % | 9.0 to 12 | |
0 |
Nitrogen (N), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
0 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.045 | |
0 to 0.040 |
Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.75 | |
0 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
0 to 0.050 |
Titanium (Ti), % | 0 to 0.7 | |
0 |