AISI 301 (S30100) Stainless Steel
AISI 301 stainless steel is an austenitic stainless steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 301 is the AISI designation for this material. S30100 is the UNS number. Additionally, the British Standard (BS) designation is 301S21.
It can have the highest tensile strength among wrought austenitic stainless steels. In addition, it has a moderately low embodied energy and a moderately low base cost.
The properties of AISI 301 stainless steel include seven common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare AISI 301 stainless steel to: wrought austenitic stainless steels (top), all iron alloys (middle), and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness
190 to 440
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
200 GPa 28 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
7.4 to 46 %
Fatigue Strength
210 to 600 MPa 31 to 88 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.28
Shear Modulus
77 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
410 to 860 MPa 60 to 120 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
590 to 1460 MPa 85 to 210 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
230 to 1080 MPa 33 to 160 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
280 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Corrosion
410 °C 770 °F
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
840 °C 1540 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1420 °C 2590 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1400 °C 2550 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
480 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
16 W/m-K 9.0 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
17 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
2.4 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
2.7 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
13 % relative
Calomel Potential
-70 mV
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
2.7 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
39 MJ/kg 17 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
130 L/kg 16 gal/lb
Common Calculations
PREN (Pitting Resistance)
18
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
99 to 300 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
130 to 2970 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
25 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
21 to 52 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
20 to 37 points
Thermal Diffusivity
4.2 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
12 to 31 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought stainless steels, the composition of AISI 301 stainless steel is notable for containing comparatively high amounts of nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr). Nickel is primarily used to achieve a specific microstructure. In addition, it has a beneficial effect on mechanical properties and certain types of corrosion. Chromium is the defining alloying element of stainless steel. Higher chromium content imparts additional corrosion resistance.
| Fe | 70.7 to 78 | |
| Cr | 16 to 18 | |
| Ni | 6.0 to 8.0 | |
| Mn | 0 to 2.0 | |
| Si | 0 to 1.0 | |
| C | 0 to 0.15 | |
| N | 0 to 0.1 | |
| P | 0 to 0.045 | |
| S | 0 to 0.030 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM A666: Standard Specification for Annealed or Cold-Worked Austenitic Stainless Steel Sheet, Strip, Plate, and Flat Bar
ASTM A276: Standard Specification for Stainless Steel Bars and Shapes
ASTM A240: Standard Specification for Chromium and Chromium-Nickel Stainless Steel Plate, Sheet, and Strip for Pressure Vessels and for General Applications
Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels, Erich Folkhard et al., 2012
ASTM A959: Standard Guide for Specifying Harmonized Standard Grade Compositions for Wrought Stainless Steels
Corrosion of Austenitic Stainless Steels: Mechanism, Mitigation and Monitoring, H. S. Khatak and B. Raj (editors), 2002
Austenitic Stainless Steels: Microstructure and Mechanical Properties, P. Marshall, 1984
ASM Specialty Handbook: Stainless Steels, J. R. Davis (editor), 1994
Advances in Stainless Steels, Baldev Raj et al. (editors), 2010