EN 1.4541 Stainless Steel vs. AISI 321 Stainless Steel
Both EN 1.4541 stainless steel and AISI 321 stainless steel are iron alloys. Their average alloy composition is basically identical.
For each property being compared, the top bar is EN 1.4541 stainless steel and the bottom bar is AISI 321 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 190 to 270 | |
| 170 to 210 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 14 to 40 | |
| 34 to 50 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 190 to 330 | |
| 220 to 270 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 77 | |
| 77 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 410 to 550 | |
| 420 to 460 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 600 to 900 | |
| 590 to 690 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 220 to 570 | |
| 220 to 350 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 290 | |
| 290 |
| Maximum Temperature: Corrosion, °C | 480 | |
| 480 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 940 | |
| 870 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1430 | |
| 1430 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1380 | |
| 1400 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
| 480 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 15 | |
| 16 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 16 | |
| 17 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 2.4 | |
| 2.4 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 2.7 | |
| 2.7 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 16 | |
| 16 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 3.2 | |
| 3.2 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 46 | |
| 45 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 140 | |
| 140 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 18 | |
| 19 |
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 110 to 190 | |
| 190 to 230 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 120 to 830 | |
| 130 to 310 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 21 to 32 | |
| 21 to 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 20 to 27 | |
| 20 to 22 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.0 | |
| 4.1 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 20 | |
| 13 to 15 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.080 | |
| 0 to 0.080 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 17 to 19 | |
| 17 to 19 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 65.2 to 74 | |
| 65.3 to 74 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 2.0 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 9.0 to 12 | |
| 9.0 to 12 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.045 | |
| 0 to 0.045 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 1.0 | |
| 0 to 0.75 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.015 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 to 0.7 | |
| 0 to 0.7 |