ASTM A321 Carbon Steel vs. AISI 304H Stainless Steel
Both ASTM A321 carbon steel and AISI 304H stainless steel are iron alloys. They have 71% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 32 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 ASTM A321 carbon steel and the bottom bar is AISI 304H stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 190 | |
| 180 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 21 | |
| 40 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 270 | |
| 200 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.28 |
| Reduction in Area, % | 39 | |
| 51 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 77 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 420 | |
| 400 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 670 | |
| 580 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 390 | |
| 230 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 290 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 960 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 1430 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1380 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 480 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 51 | |
| 17 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 16 |
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 | |
| 43 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 46 | |
| 150 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 120 | |
| 190 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 400 | |
| 130 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 24 | |
| 21 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 | |
| 20 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 4.5 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 21 | |
| 13 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.55 | |
| 0.040 to 0.1 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 18 to 20 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 98.1 to 99.25 | |
| 66.6 to 74 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.6 to 0.9 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 8.0 to 10.5 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 to 0.045 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| 0 to 0.75 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.050 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |