ASTM A321 Carbon Steel vs. S45500 Stainless Steel
Both ASTM A321 carbon steel and S45500 stainless steel are iron alloys. They have 76% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 27 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (8, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A321 carbon steel and the bottom bar is S45500 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 190 | |
| 280 to 500 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 21 | |
| 3.4 to 11 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 270 | |
| 570 to 890 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.28 |
| Reduction in Area, % | 39 | |
| 34 to 45 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 75 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 420 | |
| 790 to 1090 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 670 | |
| 1370 to 1850 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 390 | |
| 1240 to 1700 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 270 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 760 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 1440 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1400 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 11 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.8 | |
| 17 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 3.8 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 18 | |
| 57 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 46 | |
| 120 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 120 | |
| 45 to 190 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 24 | |
| 48 to 65 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 | |
| 35 to 42 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 21 | |
| 48 to 64 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.55 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 11 to 12.5 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 1.5 to 2.5 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 98.1 to 99.25 | |
| 71.5 to 79.2 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.6 to 0.9 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 7.5 to 9.5 |
| Niobium (Nb), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.050 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Tantalum (Ta), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 | |
| 0.8 to 1.4 |