Reactor Grade Zirconium vs. S15500 Stainless Steel
Reactor grade zirconium belongs to the otherwise unclassified metals classification, while S15500 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 20 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (16, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is reactor grade zirconium and the bottom bar is S15500 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 98 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 21 | |
| 6.8 to 16 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.34 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 37 | |
| 75 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 330 | |
| 890 to 1490 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 160 | |
| 590 to 1310 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 280 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 270 | |
| 480 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 22 | |
| 17 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 5.9 | |
| 11 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 6.5 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 280 | |
| 130 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 56 | |
| 98 to 120 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 130 | |
| 890 to 4460 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 8.4 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 32 to 53 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 16 | |
| 26 to 37 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 13 | |
| 4.6 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 41 | |
| 30 to 50 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.070 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 14 to 15.5 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 2.5 to 4.5 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 | |
| 71.9 to 79.9 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 3.5 to 5.5 |
| Niobium (Nb), % | 0 | |
| 0.15 to 0.45 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 99.7 to 100 | |
| 0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 to 0.27 | |
| 0 |