SAE-AISI 1020 Steel vs. SAE-AISI 1021 Steel
Both SAE-AISI 1020 steel and SAE-AISI 1021 steel are iron alloys. Their average alloy composition is basically identical.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI 1020 steel and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1021 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 120 to 130 | |
| 130 to 150 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 17 to 28 | |
| 17 to 27 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 180 to 250 | |
| 190 to 300 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Reduction in Area, % | 45 to 57 | |
| 46 to 54 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 280 | |
| 310 to 320 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 430 to 460 | |
| 480 to 530 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 240 to 380 | |
| 260 to 450 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 400 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 52 | |
| 52 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 12 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 11 | |
| 7.0 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 12 | |
| 8.0 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.8 | |
| 1.8 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 7.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 1.4 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 18 | |
| 18 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 45 | |
| 46 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 72 to 100 | |
| 84 to 110 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 150 to 380 | |
| 180 to 530 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 15 to 16 | |
| 17 to 19 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 16 to 17 | |
| 17 to 18 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 13 to 14 | |
| 15 to 17 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.18 to 0.23 | |
| 0.18 to 0.23 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 99.08 to 99.52 | |
| 98.8 to 99.22 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.3 to 0.6 | |
| 0.6 to 0.9 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.050 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |