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SAE-AISI 1042 (G10420) Carbon Steel

SAE-AISI 1042 steel is a carbon (non-alloy) steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 1042 is the designation in both the SAE and AISI systems for this material. G10420 is the UNS number.

It can have a moderately high tensile strength among the wrought carbon or non-alloy steels in the database.

The properties of SAE-AISI 1042 steel include three 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 SAE-AISI 1042 steel to: wrought carbon or non-alloy 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 to 200

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus

190 GPa 27 x 106 psi

Elongation at Break

14 to 18 %

Fatigue Strength

230 to 370 MPa 34 to 54 x 103 psi

Poisson's Ratio

0.29

Reduction in Area

39 to 50 %

Shear Modulus

73 GPa 11 x 106 psi

Shear Strength

380 to 420 MPa 55 to 61 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)

620 to 700 MPa 89 to 100 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)

340 to 580 MPa 50 to 84 x 103 psi

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion

250 J/g

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical

400 °C 750 °F

Melting Completion (Liquidus)

1460 °C 2660 °F

Melting Onset (Solidus)

1420 °C 2590 °F

Specific Heat Capacity

470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F

Thermal Conductivity

52 W/m-K 30 BTU/h-ft-°F

Thermal Expansion

12 µm/m-K

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume

7.0 % IACS

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)

8.1 % IACS

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price

1.8 % relative

Density

7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3

Embodied Carbon

1.4 kg CO2/kg material

Embodied Energy

18 MJ/kg 7.9 x 103 BTU/lb

Embodied Water

46 L/kg 5.5 gal/lb

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)

87 to 94 MJ/m3

Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)

320 to 900 kJ/m3

Stiffness to Weight: Axial

13 points

Stiffness to Weight: Bending

24 points

Strength to Weight: Axial

22 to 25 points

Strength to Weight: Bending

21 to 22 points

Thermal Diffusivity

14 mm2/s

Thermal Shock Resistance

20 to 22 points

Alloy Composition

Iron (Fe)Fe 98.5 to 99
Manganese (Mn)Mn 0.6 to 0.9
Carbon (C)C 0.4 to 0.47
Sulfur (S)S 0 to 0.050
Phosphorus (P)P 0 to 0.040

All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.

Followup Questions

Similar Alloys

Further Reading

ASTM A29: Standard Specification for Steel Bars, Carbon and Alloy, Hot-Wrought, General Requirements for

Microstructure of Steels and Cast Irons, Madeleine Durand-Charre, 2004

Carbon Steel Handbook, D. Gandy, 2007

ASM Specialty Handbook: Carbon and Alloy Steels, J. R. Davis (editor), 1996

Ferrous Materials: Steel and Cast Iron, Hans Berns and Werner Theisen, 2008

Steels: Processing, Structure, and Performance, 2nd ed., George Krauss, 2015