SAE-AISI 1548 (formerly 1048, 1.1226, G15480) Carbon Steel
SAE-AISI 1548 steel is a resulfurized carbon steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 1548 is the designation in both the SAE and AISI systems for this material. 1.1226 is the EN numeric designation. And G15480 is the UNS number. Older literature may refer to this material as AISI 1048, but this is now discouraged.
The properties of SAE-AISI 1548 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 1548 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
220 to 250
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
11 to 16 %
Fatigue Strength
270 to 430 MPa 40 to 62 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Reduction in Area
31 to 39 %
Shear Modulus
72 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
440 to 500 MPa 64 to 73 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
730 to 830 MPa 110 to 120 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
420 to 690 MPa 61 to 100 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
51 W/m-K 29 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
12 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.1 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.1 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
1.8 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.4 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
19 MJ/kg 8.0 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
47 L/kg 5.6 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
79 to 99 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
470 to 1280 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
26 to 30 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
23 to 25 points
Thermal Diffusivity
14 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
23 to 27 points
Alloy Composition
| Fe | 98 to 98.5 | |
| Mn | 1.1 to 1.4 | |
| C | 0.44 to 0.52 | |
| 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
Properties and Selection: Irons, Steels and High Performance Alloys, ASM Handbook vol. 1, ASM International, 1993
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