SAE-AISI D4 Steel vs. AISI 321 Stainless Steel
Both SAE-AISI D4 steel and AISI 321 stainless steel are iron alloys. They have 82% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI D4 steel and the bottom bar is AISI 321 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 8.4 to 15 | |
| 34 to 50 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 310 to 920 | |
| 220 to 270 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 74 | |
| 77 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 460 to 1210 | |
| 420 to 460 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 760 to 2060 | |
| 590 to 690 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 470 to 1540 | |
| 220 to 350 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 270 | |
| 290 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1430 | |
| 1430 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1380 | |
| 1400 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
| 480 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 31 | |
| 16 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 17 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 4.2 | |
| 2.4 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 5.0 | |
| 2.7 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 8.0 | |
| 16 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.7 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 3.3 | |
| 3.2 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 49 | |
| 45 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 100 | |
| 140 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 15 | |
| 19 |
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 100 to 160 | |
| 190 to 230 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 27 to 75 | |
| 21 to 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 24 to 47 | |
| 20 to 22 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 8.3 | |
| 4.1 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 23 to 63 | |
| 13 to 15 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 2.1 to 2.4 | |
| 0 to 0.080 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 11 to 13 | |
| 17 to 19 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 80.6 to 86.3 | |
| 65.3 to 74 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 0.6 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.7 to 1.2 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 9.0 to 12 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.045 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.6 | |
| 0 to 0.75 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.7 |
| Vanadium (V), % | 0 to 1.0 | |
| 0 |