AISI 334 (S33400) Stainless Steel
AISI 334 stainless steel is an austenitic stainless steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. Cited properties are appropriate for the annealed condition. 334 is the AISI designation for this material. S33400 is the UNS number.
It has a fairly low tensile strength among wrought austenitic stainless steels. In addition, it has a moderately high base cost and a moderately low ductility.
The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare AISI 334 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
180
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
200 GPa 28 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
34 %
Fatigue Strength
150 MPa 22 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.28
Rockwell B Hardness
79
Shear Modulus
77 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
360 MPa 52 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
540 MPa 79 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
190 MPa 28 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
290 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Corrosion
490 °C 910 °F
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
1000 °C 1830 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1410 °C 2580 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1370 °C 2500 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
480 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Expansion
16 µm/m-K
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
22 % relative
Density
7.9 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
4.1 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
59 MJ/kg 25 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
170 L/kg 20 gal/lb
Common Calculations
PREN (Pitting Resistance)
19
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
140 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
96 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
25 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
19 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
19 points
Thermal Shock Resistance
12 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought stainless steels, the composition of AISI 334 stainless steel is notable for including aluminum (Al) and titanium (Ti). Aluminum is used to improve oxidation resistance. It can also enhance the effects of heat treatment. Titanium is used to broadly improve mechanical properties.
| Fe | 55.7 to 62.7 | |
| Ni | 19 to 21 | |
| Cr | 18 to 20 | |
| Mn | 0 to 1.0 | |
| Si | 0 to 1.0 | |
| Al | 0.15 to 0.6 | |
| Ti | 0.15 to 0.6 | |
| C | 0 to 0.080 | |
| P | 0 to 0.030 | |
| S | 0 to 0.015 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
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
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015