ASTM A387 Grade 2 Steel vs. AISI 420 Stainless Steel
Both ASTM A387 grade 2 steel and AISI 420 stainless steel are iron alloys. They have 87% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 32 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 ASTM A387 grade 2 steel and the bottom bar is AISI 420 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 140 to 170 | |
| 190 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 25 | |
| 8.0 to 15 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 190 to 250 | |
| 220 to 670 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 76 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 300 to 350 | |
| 420 to 1010 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 470 to 550 | |
| 690 to 1720 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 260 to 350 | |
| 380 to 1310 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 280 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 420 | |
| 620 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1470 | |
| 1510 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1450 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 480 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 45 | |
| 27 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 10 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.2 | |
| 3.0 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.3 | |
| 3.5 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 2.6 | |
| 7.5 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 7.7 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.6 | |
| 2.0 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 20 | |
| 28 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 50 | |
| 100 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 2.4 | |
| 14 |
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 98 to 120 | |
| 88 to 130 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 180 to 320 | |
| 380 to 4410 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 16 to 20 | |
| 25 to 62 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 17 to 19 | |
| 22 to 41 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 12 | |
| 7.3 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 16 | |
| 25 to 62 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.050 to 0.21 | |
| 0.15 to 0.4 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0.5 to 0.8 | |
| 12 to 14 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 97.1 to 98.3 | |
| 82.3 to 87.9 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.55 to 0.8 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.45 to 0.6 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.75 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.4 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |