S15500 Stainless Steel vs. Reactor Grade Zirconium
S15500 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while reactor grade zirconium belongs to the otherwise unclassified metals. 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 S15500 stainless steel and the bottom bar is reactor grade zirconium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 98 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 6.8 to 16 | |
| 21 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.28 | |
| 0.34 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 75 | |
| 37 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 890 to 1490 | |
| 330 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 590 to 1310 | |
| 160 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 280 | |
| 250 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 480 | |
| 270 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 17 | |
| 22 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 11 | |
| 5.9 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 6.5 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 130 | |
| 280 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 98 to 120 | |
| 56 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 890 to 4460 | |
| 130 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 8.4 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 32 to 53 | |
| 14 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 26 to 37 | |
| 16 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 4.6 | |
| 13 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 30 to 50 | |
| 41 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.070 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 14 to 15.5 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 2.5 to 4.5 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 71.9 to 79.9 | |
| 0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 1.0 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 3.5 to 5.5 | |
| 0 |
| Niobium (Nb), % | 0.15 to 0.45 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 1.0 | |
| 0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 0 | |
| 99.7 to 100 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.27 |