Reactor Grade Zirconium vs. SAE-AISI 1541 Steel
Reactor grade zirconium belongs to the otherwise unclassified metals classification, while SAE-AISI 1541 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 20 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (12, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is reactor grade zirconium and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1541 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 98 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 21 | |
| 11 to 17 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.34 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 37 | |
| 73 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 330 | |
| 720 to 790 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 160 | |
| 390 to 680 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 250 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 270 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 22 | |
| 52 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 5.9 | |
| 12 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 6.5 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 280 | |
| 48 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 56 | |
| 78 to 100 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 130 | |
| 410 to 1250 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 8.4 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 25 to 28 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 16 | |
| 23 to 24 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 41 | |
| 23 to 25 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
| 0.36 to 0.44 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 | |
| 97.8 to 98.3 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 | |
| 1.4 to 1.7 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 99.7 to 100 | |
| 0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 to 0.27 | |
| 0 |