ASTM A321 Carbon Steel vs. AISI 303 Stainless Steel
Both ASTM A321 carbon steel and AISI 303 stainless steel are iron alloys. They have 72% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A321 carbon steel and the bottom bar is AISI 303 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 190 | |
| 170 to 210 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 21 | |
| 40 to 51 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 270 | |
| 230 to 360 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 77 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 420 | |
| 430 to 470 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 670 | |
| 600 to 690 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 390 | |
| 230 to 420 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 290 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 930 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 1450 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1400 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 480 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 51 | |
| 16 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 17 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.1 | |
| 2.4 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.1 | |
| 2.8 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.8 | |
| 15 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 3.0 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 18 | |
| 42 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 46 | |
| 140 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 120 | |
| 240 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 400 | |
| 140 to 440 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 24 | |
| 21 to 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 | |
| 20 to 22 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 4.4 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 21 | |
| 13 to 15 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.55 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 17 to 19 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 98.1 to 99.25 | |
| 67.3 to 74.9 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.6 to 0.9 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 8.0 to 10 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.050 | |
| 0.15 to 0.35 |