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AISI 405 (S40500) Stainless Steel

AISI 405 stainless steel is a ferritic stainless steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. Cited properties are appropriate for the annealed condition. 405 is the AISI designation for this material. S40500 is the UNS number. Additionally, the British Standard (BS) designation is 405S17.

It has a fairly high thermal conductivity among wrought ferritic stainless steels. In addition, it has a moderately low base cost and a moderately low embodied energy.

The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare AISI 405 stainless steel to: wrought ferritic stainless 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

170

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus

190 GPa 28 x 106 psi

Elongation at Break

22 %

Fatigue Strength

130 MPa 19 x 103 psi

Poisson's Ratio

0.28

Reduction in Area

51 %

Rockwell B Hardness

76

Shear Modulus

76 GPa 11 x 106 psi

Shear Strength

300 MPa 43 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)

470 MPa 68 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)

200 MPa 29 x 103 psi

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion

280 J/g

Maximum Temperature: Corrosion

390 °C 740 °F

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical

820 °C 1500 °F

Melting Completion (Liquidus)

1530 °C 2790 °F

Melting Onset (Solidus)

1480 °C 2700 °F

Specific Heat Capacity

480 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F

Thermal Conductivity

30 W/m-K 17 BTU/h-ft-°F

Thermal Expansion

11 µm/m-K

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume

2.9 % IACS

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)

3.3 % IACS

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price

7.0 % relative

Calomel Potential

-210 mV

Density

7.7 g/cm3 480 lb/ft3

Embodied Carbon

2.0 kg CO2/kg material

Embodied Energy

28 MJ/kg 12 x 103 BTU/lb

Embodied Water

100 L/kg 12 gal/lb

Common Calculations

PREN (Pitting Resistance)

13

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)

84 MJ/m3

Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)

100 kJ/m3

Stiffness to Weight: Axial

14 points

Stiffness to Weight: Bending

25 points

Strength to Weight: Axial

17 points

Strength to Weight: Bending

17 points

Thermal Diffusivity

8.1 mm2/s

Thermal Shock Resistance

16 points

Alloy Composition

Among wrought stainless steels, the composition of AISI 405 stainless steel is notable for including aluminum (Al). Aluminum is used to improve oxidation resistance. It can also enhance the effects of heat treatment.

Iron (Fe)Fe 82.5 to 88.4
Chromium (Cr)Cr 11.5 to 14.5
Manganese (Mn)Mn 0 to 1.0
Silicon (Si)Si 0 to 1.0
Nickel (Ni)Ni 0 to 0.6
Aluminum (Al)Al 0.1 to 0.3
Carbon (C)C 0 to 0.080
Phosphorus (P)P 0 to 0.040
Sulfur (S)S 0 to 0.030

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

Followup Questions

Similar Alloys

Further Reading

ASTM A473: Standard Specification for Stainless Steel Forgings

ASTM A479: Standard Specification for Stainless Steel Bars and Shapes for Use in Boilers and Other Pressure Vessels

ASTM A276: Standard Specification for Stainless Steel Bars and Shapes

Creep-Resistant Steels, Fujio Abe et al. (editors), 2008

ASTM A240: Standard Specification for Chromium and Chromium-Nickel Stainless Steel Plate, Sheet, and Strip for Pressure Vessels and for General Applications

Advanced Materials in Automotive Engineering, Jason Rowe (editor), 2012

ASTM A959: Standard Guide for Specifying Harmonized Standard Grade Compositions for Wrought Stainless Steels

Pressure Vessels: External Pressure Technology, 2nd ed., Carl T. F. Ross, 2011

Corrosion of Stainless Steels, A. John Sedriks, 1996

ASM Specialty Handbook: Stainless Steels, J. R. Davis (editor), 1994