Last verified 19 August 2026.
The comparison
| Property | 253 MA | 310S | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum service temperature in air | 1150 °C | 1050 °C | E3 E3 |
| Proof strength Rp0.2, minimum at 100 °C | 230 MPa | 140 MPa | E3 E3 |
| Proof strength Rp0.2, minimum at 600 °C | 140 MPa | 82 MPa | E3 E3 |
| Tensile strength Rm, minimum at 600 °C | 445 MPa | 320 MPa | E3 E3 |
| Density | 7.8 g/cm³ | 7.9 g/cm³ | E3 E3 |
| Modulus of elasticity | 200 GPa | 196 GPa | E3 E3 |
| Thermal conductivity | 15 W/(m·K) | 15 W/(m·K) | E3 E3 |
All shared rows compare like for like.
Where each side’s numbers come from
See 253 MA and 310S — each page lists every source, every demotion and every gap. Nothing on this page is derived from anything not on those two, and our coverage limits are stated separately.
Where a PREN appears above, read it as a ranking number rather than a qualification: what PREN can and cannot tell you.
When to choose which
253 MA. Hot parts that cycle. Furnace fans, recuperators, burner and boiler components, radiant tubes and anything that is heated and cooled repeatedly rather than held at temperature. It is also chosen over 310S when the nickel price is the problem, since it delivers a higher ceiling on roughly half the nickel.
310S. Furnace internals, radiant tubes, burner components, kiln furniture and heat treatment fixtures — the parts that live in a hot oxidising atmosphere and are replaced on a schedule rather than designed for a service life. Its high chromium and nickel keep the scale adherent through cycling, and that is what it is bought for.
Against 253 MA: Sulphur-bearing and strongly carburising atmospheres, and any duty where creep rather than scaling governs — above roughly 600 °C creep rather than yield is the design property, and no source consulted for this page supplies it. It is also a specialist grade with thinner availability than 310S, and machining the silicon-bearing composition is harder work.
Against 310S: Sulphur, carburising atmospheres and cost. Nickel forms low-melting sulphides, so the same composition that makes 310S good in air makes it poor in a sulphur-bearing flue. It also embrittles after long exposure in the sigma phase range, so a part that has to be handled cold after service is a bad application.
What this comparison does not cover
- No room temperature values at all, which is the datasheet’s position, not an omission on this page.
- No creep or creep rupture data.
- The cyclic oxidation advantage is asserted by the source, not quantified, and is therefore not a row in the table above.
- The maximum service temperature is a supplier recommendation for air, not a standard limit.
- Composition limits, not established.
- No creep or creep rupture data, which governs design above roughly 600 °C.
- No sulphidation or carburisation data.
Generated from data/materials/253ma.yaml and 310s.yaml.