SAE-AISI 1541 (formerly 1041, G15410) Carbon Steel
SAE-AISI 1541 steel is a resulfurized carbon steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 1541 is the designation in both the SAE and AISI systems for this material. G15410 is the UNS number. Older literature may refer to this material as AISI 1041, but this is now discouraged.
The properties of SAE-AISI 1541 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 SAE-AISI 1541 steel to: wrought resulfurized carbon 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
210 to 220
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
11 to 17 %
Fatigue Strength
260 to 420 MPa 38 to 61 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Reduction in Area
34 to 51 %
Shear Modulus
73 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
440 to 480 MPa 63 to 69 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
720 to 790 MPa 100 to 120 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
390 to 680 MPa 57 to 99 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
400 °C 750 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1460 °C 2660 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1420 °C 2580 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
52 W/m-K 30 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
12 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.1 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.2 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
1.9 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.4 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
19 MJ/kg 8.1 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
48 L/kg 5.7 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
78 to 100 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
410 to 1250 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
25 to 28 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
23 to 24 points
Thermal Diffusivity
14 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
23 to 25 points
Alloy Composition
| Fe | 97.8 to 98.3 | |
| Mn | 1.4 to 1.7 | |
| C | 0.36 to 0.44 | |
| S | 0 to 0.050 | |
| P | 0 to 0.040 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM A29: Standard Specification for Steel Bars, Carbon and Alloy, Hot-Wrought, General Requirements for
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
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015
Steels: Processing, Structure, and Performance, 2nd ed., George Krauss, 2015