Reactor Grade Zirconium vs. S38815 Stainless Steel
Reactor grade zirconium belongs to the otherwise unclassified metals classification, while S38815 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 18 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (13, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is reactor grade zirconium and the bottom bar is S38815 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 98 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 21 | |
| 34 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.34 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 37 | |
| 74 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 330 | |
| 610 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 160 | |
| 290 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 370 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 270 | |
| 500 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 5.9 | |
| 15 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 6.5 | |
| 7.5 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 280 | |
| 140 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 56 | |
| 170 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 130 | |
| 220 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 8.4 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 22 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 16 | |
| 21 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 41 | |
| 15 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 13 to 15 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 0.75 to 1.5 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 | |
| 56.1 to 67 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 0.75 to 1.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 13 to 17 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 | |
| 5.5 to 6.5 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 99.7 to 100 | |
| 0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 to 0.27 | |
| 0 |