EN 1.8159 (51CrV4) Chromium-Vanadium Steel
EN 1.8159 steel is an alloy steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 1.8159 is the EN numeric designation for this material. 51CrV4 is the EN chemical designation. It has a moderately low melting temperature and a fairly high embodied energy among EN wrought alloy steels.
The properties of EN 1.8159 steel include six 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 1.8159 steel to: EN wrought 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
200 to 360
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Shear Modulus
73 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
660 to 1980 MPa 95 to 290 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
420 °C 790 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1460 °C 2650 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1410 °C 2580 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
46 W/m-K 27 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
13 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.3 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.4 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
2.3 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.9 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
26 MJ/kg 11 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
52 L/kg 6.2 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
23 to 70 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
21 to 45 points
Thermal Diffusivity
13 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
19 to 58 points
Alloy Composition
Among alloy steels, the composition of EN 1.8159 steel is notable for including vanadium (V) and containing a comparatively high amount of chromium (Cr). Vanadium has a strong hardening effect, but this effect is particularly sensitive to the type of tempering. Chromium is used to improve corrosion resistance and most mechanical properties (particularly at higher temperatures).
| Fe | 96.4 to 97.8 | |
| Cr | 0.9 to 1.2 | |
| Mn | 0.7 to 1.1 | |
| C | 0.47 to 0.55 | |
| Si | 0 to 0.4 | |
| V | 0.1 to 0.25 | |
| P | 0 to 0.035 | |
| S | 0 to 0.035 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
EN 10250-3: Open die steel forgings for general engineering purposes - Part 3: Alloy special steels
EN 10089: Hot rolled steels for quenched and tempered springs - Technical delivery conditions
Welding Metallurgy, 2nd ed., Sindo Kou, 2003
Manufacture and Uses of Alloy Steels, Henry D. Hibbard, 2005
Ferrous Materials: Steel and Cast Iron, Hans Berns and Werner Theisen, 2008
Steels: Processing, Structure, and Performance, 2nd ed., George Krauss, 2015