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