ASTM A387 Grade 21 Steel vs. S45000 Stainless Steel
Both ASTM A387 grade 21 steel and S45000 stainless steel are iron alloys. They have 80% 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 A387 grade 21 steel and the bottom bar is S45000 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 150 to 180 | |
| 280 to 410 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 21 | |
| 6.8 to 14 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 160 to 250 | |
| 330 to 650 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 74 | |
| 76 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 310 to 370 | |
| 590 to 830 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 500 to 590 | |
| 980 to 1410 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 230 to 350 | |
| 580 to 1310 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 260 | |
| 280 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 480 | |
| 840 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1470 | |
| 1440 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1430 | |
| 1390 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 480 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 41 | |
| 17 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 11 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.6 | |
| 2.2 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.8 | |
| 2.5 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 4.1 | |
| 13 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.8 | |
| 2.8 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 23 | |
| 39 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 62 | |
| 130 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 6.4 | |
| 17 |
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 84 to 110 | |
| 94 to 160 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 140 to 320 | |
| 850 to 4400 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 18 to 21 | |
| 35 to 50 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 18 to 20 | |
| 28 to 36 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 11 | |
| 4.5 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 17 | |
| 33 to 47 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.050 to 0.15 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 2.8 to 3.3 | |
| 14 to 16 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 1.3 to 1.8 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 94.4 to 96 | |
| 72.1 to 79.3 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.3 to 0.6 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.9 to 1.1 | |
| 0.5 to 1.0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 5.0 to 7.0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.5 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |