EN 1.4542 (X5CrNiCuNb16-4) Stainless Steel
EN 1.4542 stainless steel is a precipitation-hardening stainless steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 1.4542 is the EN numeric designation for this material. X5CrNiCuNb16-4 is the EN chemical designation.
It has the highest electrical conductivity and a moderately low embodied energy among wrought precipitation-hardening stainless steels.
The properties of EN 1.4542 stainless steel include five 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 EN 1.4542 stainless steel to: wrought precipitation-hardening 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
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 28 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
5.7 to 20 %
Fatigue Strength
370 to 640 MPa 54 to 93 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.28
Shear Modulus
76 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
550 to 860 MPa 79 to 120 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
880 to 1470 MPa 130 to 210 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
580 to 1300 MPa 84 to 190 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
280 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Corrosion
440 °C 820 °F
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
860 °C 1580 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1430 °C 2600 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1380 °C 2520 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
16 W/m-K 9.3 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
11 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
2.4 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
2.8 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
13 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
2.7 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
39 MJ/kg 17 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
130 L/kg 16 gal/lb
Common Calculations
PREN (Pitting Resistance)
17
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
62 to 160 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
880 to 4360 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
25 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
31 to 52 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
26 to 37 points
Thermal Diffusivity
4.3 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
29 to 49 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought stainless steels, the composition of EN 1.4542 stainless steel is notable for including niobium (Nb) and copper (Cu). Niobium is primarily used to improve yield strength, particularly at elevated temperatures. Copper is used to improve resistance to acids, and to improve formability.
| Fe | 69.6 to 79 | |
| Cr | 15 to 17 | |
| Ni | 3.0 to 5.0 | |
| Cu | 3.0 to 5.0 | |
| Mn | 0 to 1.5 | |
| Si | 0 to 0.7 | |
| Mo | 0 to 0.6 | |
| Nb | 0 to 0.45 | |
| C | 0 to 0.070 | |
| P | 0 to 0.040 | |
| S | 0 to 0.015 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
EN 10250-4: Open die steel forgings for general engineering purposes - Part 4: Stainless steels
EN 10088-2: Stainless steels - Part 2: Technical delivery conditions for sheet/plate and strip of corrosion resisting steels for general purposes
EN 10088-3: Stainless steels - Part 3: Technical delivery conditions for semi-finished products, bars, rods, wire, sections and bright products of corrosion resisting steels for general purposes
EN 10088-1: Stainless steels - Part 1: List of stainless steels
Corrosion of Stainless Steels, A. John Sedriks, 1996
Advances in Stainless Steels, Baldev Raj et al. (editors), 2010
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015