ASTM A285 Carbon Steel
ASTM A285 carbon steel is a carbon (non-alloy) steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. It can have a fairly high ductility among wrought carbon or non-alloy steels. In addition, it has a fairly high thermal conductivity and can have a moderately low tensile strength.
The properties of ASTM A285 carbon 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 ASTM A285 carbon 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
110 to 130
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
30 to 34 %
Fatigue Strength
150 to 180 MPa 22 to 26 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Shear Modulus
73 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
250 to 290 MPa 37 to 43 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
380 to 450 MPa 55 to 65 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
190 to 230 MPa 27 to 34 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
400 °C 750 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1470 °C 2670 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1420 to 1430 °C 2600 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
53 W/m-K 31 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
12 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.0 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.0 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
1.8 % relative
Density
7.9 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.4 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
18 MJ/kg 7.8 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
46 L/kg 5.4 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
110 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
94 to 150 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
13 to 16 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
15 to 17 points
Thermal Diffusivity
14 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
12 to 14 points
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM A285: Standard Specification for Pressure Vessel Plates, Carbon Steel, Low- and Intermediate-Tensile Strength
Pressure Vessels: External Pressure Technology, 2nd ed., Carl T. F. Ross, 2011
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