SAE-AISI 4130 Steel vs. ASTM A36 Carbon Steel
Both SAE-AISI 4130 steel and ASTM A36 carbon steel are iron alloys. They have a very high 98% of their average alloy composition in common.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI 4130 steel and the bottom bar is ASTM A36 carbon steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 200 to 300 | |
| 140 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 13 to 26 | |
| 22 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 320 to 660 | |
| 200 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 340 to 640 | |
| 300 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 530 to 1040 | |
| 480 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 440 to 980 | |
| 290 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 420 | |
| 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 | 43 | |
| 50 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 11 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.2 | |
| 12 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.3 | |
| 14 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 2.4 | |
| 1.8 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.5 | |
| 1.4 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 20 | |
| 18 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 50 | |
| 44 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 83 to 180 | |
| 92 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 500 to 2550 | |
| 220 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 19 to 37 | |
| 17 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 19 to 29 | |
| 17 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 12 | |
| 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 16 to 31 | |
| 16 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.28 to 0.33 | |
| 0 to 0.26 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0.8 to 1.1 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 97.3 to 98.2 | |
| 99.25 to 100 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.4 to 0.6 | |
| 0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.15 to 0.25 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.035 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |