EN 1.4621 (X2CrNbCu21) Stainless Steel
EN 1.4621 stainless steel is a ferritic stainless steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 1.4621 is the EN numeric designation for this material. X2CrNbCu21 is the EN chemical designation.
It has a moderately high ductility among wrought ferritic stainless steels. In addition, it has a moderately high base cost and a moderately high embodied energy.
The properties of EN 1.4621 stainless steel include two common variations. This page shows summary ranges across both of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare EN 1.4621 stainless steel to: wrought ferritic 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
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
200 GPa 29 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
25 %
Fatigue Strength
190 MPa 27 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.27
Shear Modulus
78 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
320 MPa 46 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
500 MPa 73 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
270 MPa 39 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
290 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Corrosion
510 °C 950 °F
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
970 °C 1780 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1440 °C 2620 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1390 °C 2540 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
480 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
21 W/m-K 12 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
11 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
2.6 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
3.1 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
14 % relative
Density
7.7 g/cm3 480 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
2.8 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
41 MJ/kg 17 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
140 L/kg 16 gal/lb
Common Calculations
PREN (Pitting Resistance)
21
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
110 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
190 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
25 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
18 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
18 points
Thermal Diffusivity
5.7 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
17 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought stainless steels, the composition of EN 1.4621 stainless steel is notable for including niobium (Nb) and copper (Cu). Niobium is primarily used to improve yield strength, particularly at elevated temperatures. Copper is used to improve resistance to acids, and to improve formability.
| Fe | 74.4 to 79.7 | |
| Cr | 20 to 21.5 | |
| Nb | 0.2 to 1.0 | |
| Cu | 0.1 to 1.0 | |
| Mn | 0 to 1.0 | |
| Si | 0 to 1.0 | |
| P | 0 to 0.040 | |
| C | 0 to 0.030 | |
| N | 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
EN 10088-2: Stainless steels - Part 2: Technical delivery conditions for sheet/plate and strip of corrosion resisting steels for general purposes
EN 10088-1: Stainless steels - Part 1: List of stainless steels
Corrosion of Stainless Steels, A. John Sedriks, 1996
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