ASTM A387 Grade 21 Steel vs. Grade 21 Titanium
ASTM A387 grade 21 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while grade 21 titanium belongs to the titanium alloys. There are 28 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (5, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A387 grade 21 steel and the bottom bar is grade 21 titanium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 140 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 21 | |
| 9.0 to 17 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 160 to 250 | |
| 550 to 660 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.32 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 74 | |
| 51 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 310 to 370 | |
| 550 to 790 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 500 to 590 | |
| 890 to 1340 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 230 to 350 | |
| 870 to 1170 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 260 | |
| 410 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 480 | |
| 310 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1470 | |
| 1740 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1430 | |
| 1690 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 500 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 41 | |
| 7.5 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 7.1 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 4.1 | |
| 60 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 5.4 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.8 | |
| 32 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 23 | |
| 490 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 62 | |
| 180 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 84 to 110 | |
| 110 to 180 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 140 to 320 | |
| 2760 to 5010 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 32 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 18 to 21 | |
| 46 to 69 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 18 to 20 | |
| 38 to 50 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 11 | |
| 2.8 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 17 | |
| 66 to 100 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 0 | |
| 2.5 to 3.5 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0.050 to 0.15 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 2.8 to 3.3 | |
| 0 |
| Hydrogen (H), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.015 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 94.4 to 96 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.3 to 0.6 | |
| 0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.9 to 1.1 | |
| 14 to 16 |
| Niobium (Nb), % | 0 | |
| 2.2 to 3.2 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Oxygen (O), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.17 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.5 | |
| 0.15 to 0.25 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 | |
| 76 to 81.2 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |