Grey Cast Iron vs. SAE-AISI 1021 Steel
Both grey cast iron and SAE-AISI 1021 steel are iron alloys. They have a moderately high 94% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 30 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 grey cast iron and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1021 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness | 160 to 300 | |
130 to 150 |
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 180 | |
190 |
Elongation at Break, % | 9.6 | |
17 to 27 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 69 to 170 | |
190 to 300 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
0.29 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 69 | |
73 |
Shear Strength, MPa | 180 to 610 | |
310 to 320 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 160 to 450 | |
480 to 530 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 98 to 290 | |
260 to 450 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 280 | |
250 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1380 | |
1460 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1180 | |
1420 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 490 | |
470 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 46 | |
52 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 11 | |
12 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.4 | |
7.0 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.9 | |
8.0 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.9 | |
1.8 |
Density, g/cm3 | 7.5 | |
7.9 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.5 | |
1.4 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 21 | |
18 |
Embodied Water, L/kg | 44 | |
46 |
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 13 to 37 | |
84 to 110 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 27 to 240 | |
180 to 530 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
13 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
24 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 5.8 to 17 | |
17 to 19 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 8.7 to 17 | |
17 to 18 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 13 | |
14 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 6.0 to 17 | |
15 to 17 |
Alloy Composition
Carbon (C), % | 3.1 to 3.4 | |
0.18 to 0.23 |
Iron (Fe), % | 92.1 to 93.9 | |
98.8 to 99.22 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0.5 to 0.7 | |
0.6 to 0.9 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.9 | |
0 to 0.040 |
Silicon (Si), % | 2.5 to 2.8 | |
0 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.15 | |
0 to 0.050 |