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HOME > TECHNOLOGIES > MATERIALS > COMPARING STAINLESS STEEL AND OTHER METALS

ComparingStainlessSteelandOtherMetals
Stainlesssteelgivespartsacleanlook,butitsamismatchformanyapplications.
NormEllis,Ellis&Associates|LagunaHills,Calif.|EditedbyKenKoraneandJessica
Shapiro|MachineDesign
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Dec9,2009

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Key points: Stainless steels are defined as low-carbon steels with at least 10% chromium with or without
other alloying elements. | AISI 4130 alloy steel has properties better than or similar to aircraft-grade
stainless steels. | Alloy steels are less expensive and more-easily machined than standard stainless grades.

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Thisfiletypeincludeshighresolutiongraphicsandschematicswhenapplicable.
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Stainlesssteeliswidelyusedinthe
foodandmedicalindustriesbecause
itiseasilycleanedandsanitized.
Strengthandcorrosionresistance
oftenmakeitthematerialofchoice
intransportationandprocessing
equipment,engineparts,and
firearms.Andsometimes,designers
specifystainlesssimplyforits
appearance,notforitsstructuralproperties.However,itsbenefitsdontfitevery
application.

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Inaviation,forinstance,itsutilityisfarfromclear.Commonlyusedaerospacemetals
includewaterquenched,AISI4130alloysteel,AluminumAssociation(AA)2024T3
Alcladaluminum,AA7075T6Alcladaluminum,AISI304austeniticstainlesssteel,and
AISI440Cmartensiticstainlesssteel.Hereshowtheycompare.

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Steelstrengths

AISI4130alloysteelcontains0.75to1.20%chromiumandnosignificantnickel.
AA2024T3andAA7075T6aluminumarealsonickelfree,butAA7075T6contains
0.23%chromium.
AISI304stainlesscontains18%chromiumand8%nickel.
AISI440Chas16to18%chromiumand0.95to1.2%carbon.
Steelsaregenerally66%heavierthanaluminumbutspecificstrength,theratioof
strengthtodensity,isthepropertyofinterestforaircraftdesigners.Ofthefivematerials,
440Cstainlesssteelhasthehighestspecificstrength,followedby4130alloysteel,7075T6
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aluminum,and2024T3aluminum.AISI304stainlesssteelhastheloweststrengthto
weightratioofthefive.

Lookingatstrength,designersshouldconsidertwoparameters.Oneisultimatetensile
strength(UTS),themaximumtensilestressamaterialcanendurewithouttearing.The
otherisyieldstrength,thetensileloadperunitarearequiredtopermanentlydeforma
material.Uptotheyieldpoint,deformationiselasticthematerialreturnstoitsoriginal
shapeaftertheloadisremoved.Yieldstrengthisusuallydeterminedastheintersectionof
thestressstraincurvewithalineparalleltotheinitialstraightlineportionofthecurve
andoffsetby2%strain,oftencalled2%yieldstress.
ForbothUTSand2%yieldstrength,440Cstainlessshinesovertheothersteeland
aluminumalloysinthiscomparison.4130alloysteelcomesinaclosesecond.Aluminums
fallatthebottomintermsofUTS,but304stainlesssteelhasthelowest2%yieldstrength
at42.1ksi.
Anotherpropertyofinterestis
elongation,theamountamaterial
lengthensbeforefracturing.Greater
elongationmeansthematerialisless
pronetofracture,butitoftengoes
handinhandwithlowerstiffness.
Elongationisusuallyexpressedasa
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ComparingStainlessSteelandOtherMetals|MaterialscontentfromMachineDesign

percentageofthelengthchangeovertheinitialmeasuredlength.

ByStephenMraz

Here,304stainlesselongatesthemostat55%.440Cstainlesshastheshortestelongation
at2%.Itsmartensiticstructuremakesitstrongbutbrittle.

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Shearstrength,themaximumstressamaterialendures
beforeitfractures,comesintoplaywhencomponents
seeoffaxisforces.Shearstrengthsarenottypically
quotedforstainlesssteelsbecausetheyaretoolowto
haveengineeringvalue.4130alloysteelhasshear
strengtharound11ksi,lowerthanthoseforthe
aluminumalloys.

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Hardnessisamaterialsabilitytoresistscratchingor
indention.Hardermaterialsmaybemoredurable,but
theyarealsomoredifficulttomachine.440Cstainless
and4130alloysteelarethetwohardestmetalsinthiscomparison.
Asmaterialsareheated,theyexpand.Therateofthislinearexpansionisthecoefficientof
thermalexpansion(CTE).LowerCTEsletdesignersdownplaydimensionalchangesas
temperaturesrise.Here,440ChasthelowestCTEofthesefivealloysat5.6106in./in./
Fbetween32and212F.
Thehighestloadthatcanberepeatedlyappliedwithoutbreakingamaterialisknownas
thefatigueorendurancelimit.AISI4130alloysteelshinesat130ksi,overthreetimes
greaterthanthenextclosestalloy,440Cstainlesssteel.
Formoredetailedpropertydata,seetheaccompanyingtable.

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Comparingcosts

Mechanicalpropertiesarenottheonlycriteriaonwhichmaterialsarejudged.Cost
counts,too.Thelowestpriceduncertifiedrawmaterialinthisanalysisis4130alloysteel.
2024T3aluminumcosts40%moreand7075T6aluminumis42%moreexpensive.304
stainlesssteelonlybumpscostupby37%while440Cstainlesssteelis80%morecostly
thanthealloysteel.
Thiscomparativeanalysisisforstainlesssteelsatthelowendofthepropertiesscale.
Requirementsforhigherstrengthatelevatedtemperaturesandbettercorrosionresistance
addtocosts.
Whilestringentmaterialrequirementsmayelevatecosts,machiningdrivesuptheexpense
offinishedpartsmorethanthatofthematerialitself.Specifically,surfacecuttingspeed
infeetperminutedetermineshowmuchmachinetimeaprocessorhastoinvestineach
typeofmaterial.
AISI1212carbonsteelisconsideredrelativelyeasytocut.Annealed4130alloysteelcan
onlybecut72%asfast.Annealed304and440Cstainlesssteelshavesurfacecutting
speeds55%and60%lowerthanthecarbonsteel,respectively.
Thedifferenceincuttingspeedsispartlyduetothematerialssulfurcontent.Moresulfur
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makesalloysmoremachinable.1212carbonsteelhas0.16to0.23%sulfurcomparedto
0.04%in4130alloysteeland0.03%in304and440Cstainlesssteels.
Incontrast,aluminumalloyslike2024T3and7075T6canbemachinedatoverthree
timesthespeedof1212.
Weldingisanothersecondaryoperationdesignersshouldconsiderwhenspecifyingalloys.
Somestainlesssteelsaregoodcandidates,otherscannotbeweldedatall.
Likeeverymetal,stainlesssteelcancrackanddistortundertheheatofaweldinggun.
Steelscanalsolosecorrosionresistanceduringwelding,leadingtorustatthejoints.Extra
premachiningstepstocreateaweldablesurfacethatwillnotcorrodeaddtothecostof
weldingstainlesssteel.
Corrosionandpassivation

Evenwithoutwelding,stainlesssteelscancorrodeunlesstheyaretreated,machined,and
properlyapplied.Theycansufferfrompitting,crevicecorrosion,knifelineattack,rouging
(formationofironoxide,hydroxide,orcarbonatedeposits),intergranularcorrosion,
stresscorrosioncracking,sulfidestresscracking,andcontactcorrosion.
Anothermodemostengineersrecognizeisgalvaniccorrosionbetweentwodissimilar
materialsplacedtogether.Forexample,stainlesssteelfastenersonanaluminumpanel
quicklycorrode.
Acommonwaytoavoidgalvaniccorrosioniswithaphysicalbarrier,suchasawasher,
gasket,finish,orlubricantthatpreventsthemetalsfromtouching.
Anotherproblemwithstainlesssteelisgalling.Thistypicallytakesplacewhenstainless
steelfastenersarehighlytorqued,marringthematerialspassivatingoxidesurfacefilm.
Mostpartsmustbepassivatedinanacidbathaftermachiningandthoroughcleaning.
Polishingcanalsopreventmaterialsfromrusting,butapolishedfinishmustbekeptup
throughmaintenanceandwaxingthroughoutthepartslife.
Whatisstainlesssteel?
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TheAmericanIronandSteelInstitute(AISI)definesstainlesssteelassteelthatcontains
10%ormorechromiumaloneorwithotheralloyingelements.Chromiumincreases
hardness,strength,andcorrosionresistance.Nickelgivessimilarbenefitsbutadds
hardnesswithoutsacrificingductilityandtoughness.Italsoreducesthermalexpansion
forbetterdimensionalstability.
TheearliestrecordofcorrosionresistantsteelwastheIronPillarofDelhi,India,circa
400AD.Itishighinphosphorus,whichworkedwithweatherconditionstocreatea
protectivepassivationlayerofironoxidesandphosphates.
FrenchmetallurgistPierreBerthierengineeredthefirstdocumentedcorrosionresistant
materialin1821foracutleryapplication.Between1904and1911,Frenchresearcher
LeonGuilletdevelopedalloysthattodaywouldbeclassifiedasstainlesssteel.In1911,
GermanPhilipMonnartzdocumentedtheconnectionbetweenchromiumcontentand
corrosionresistance.
By1913,HarryBrearly,ametallurgistinSheffield,England,workingonacorrosion
resistantalloyforgunbarrels,wasdubbedbysometheinventorofstainlesssteel.The
alloythatresultedfromhisworkistodaycalledmartensiticstainlesssteel.
AtthesametimeatKruppIronWorksinGermany,EduardMaurerandBenno
Strausscreatedanausteniticalloy.IntheUnitedStates,ChristianDantsizenand
FrederickBecketinventedferriticstainlesssteel.
Stainlesssteelsmaincategoriesareaustenitic(200and300Series),ferritic(400Series),
martensitic(400and500Series),precipitationhardening(PH),andduplexalloys.
Austeniticstainlesssteelshavethebestcorrosionresistanceofallstainlesssteelsbecause
theycontainatleast16%chromium.Addednickelandmanganeseholdthemetalinan
austeniticmicrostructure.AISI304stainlessisacommonalloycontaining18%
chromiumand8%nickel.Thesealloysareusuallycharacterizedasductile,weldable,
andhardenablebycoldforming.
Ferriticstainlesssteelshave10.5to27%chromiumandnosignificantnickelcontent,
loweringtheircorrosionresistance.Theyareconsideredbestforhightemperature
insteadofhighstrengthapplications.
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Martensiticalloyscontain12to14%chromium,0.2to1%molybdenum,andno
significantamountofnickel.Theyhavelowercorrosionresistancethanausteniticor
ferriticalloys,butareconsideredhard,strong,slightlybrittle,andhardenablebyheat
treatment.AcommonaircraftgrademartensiticstainlessisAISI440C,whichcontains
16to18%chromiumand0.95to1.2%carbon.
PHstainlesssteelscontainaround17%chromiumand4%nickel.Thismakesthem
ascorrosionresistantasausteniticgrades.Unlikeausteniticalloys,however,heat
treatmentstrengthensPHsteelstolevelshigherthanmartensiticalloys.
Duplexstainlesssteels,astheirnameindicates,areacombinationoftwoofthe
mainalloytypes.Thealloysmixtureof19to28%chromium,0to5%molybdenum,and
5to7%nickelresultsinamixedausteniticandferriticmicrostructure.Theyarestronger
thaneitherausteniticandferriticalloysandhavebetterlocalizedcorrosionresistance.
Fastenertofastener

Onespecificaircraftapplicationformetalsisfastening.FastenerssuchasNAS1352
socketheadcapscrewsreliablyholdaircrafttogether.
ComparingASTMA574alloysteelfastenerswithASTMF837stainlesssteelfasteners
revealsthatalloysteelisstrongerintensileandyieldstrength,whereasstainlesssteel
betterhandleshightemperatures.
Shearstrengthisnotlistedbecauseitvarieswithfastenerdiameter.Forexample,
however,thesingleshearstrengthofanalloysteelNumber10fasteneris3,225lbwhilea
stainlesssteelfastenerofthesamesizetolerates1,280lb.
Takingthisparticularexamplefurther,a10320.500in.longfastenercosts73%more
usingstainlesssteel,withlessstrengthbuta69%highertopoperatingtemperature.Ifan
engineerdoesntanticipatethefastenerseeing800F,itmaynotbeworththeadditional
cost.
Resources:AmericanIronandSteelInstitute|Ellis&Associates
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onFeb1,2016

Mamboyoyo

Attentioneditors:IwassurprisedwhenIreadthattheshearstrengthof4130steelwasless
thanthatofaluminumalloys.WhenItriedtocorroboratethisassertioninanothersource,I
couldn'tfindany.TheMMPDSliststheshearstrengthof4130intherangeof5457ksi,which
isgreaterthananythingIcouldfindforanAlalloy.
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