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SAE-AISI 52100 (G52986) Chromium Steel

SAE-AISI 52100 steel is an alloy steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 52100 is the designation in both the SAE and AISI systems for this material. G52986 is the UNS number.

The properties of SAE-AISI 52100 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 52100 steel to: SAE-AISI wrought 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

180 to 210

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus

190 GPa 27 x 106 psi

Elongation at Break

10 to 20 %

Fatigue Strength

250 to 340 MPa 37 to 50 x 103 psi

Poisson's Ratio

0.29

Shear Modulus

72 GPa 10 x 106 psi

Shear Strength

370 to 420 MPa 54 to 61 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)

590 to 2010 MPa 86 to 290 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)

360 to 560 MPa 53 to 81 x 103 psi

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion

250 J/g

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical

430 °C 810 °F

Melting Completion (Liquidus)

1450 °C 2640 °F

Melting Onset (Solidus)

1410 °C 2570 °F

Specific Heat Capacity

470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F

Thermal Conductivity

47 W/m-K 27 BTU/h-ft-°F

Thermal Expansion

12 to 13 µm/m-K

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume

7.3 % IACS

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)

8.5 % IACS

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price

2.4 % relative

Density

7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3

Embodied Carbon

1.5 kg CO2/kg material

Embodied Energy

20 MJ/kg 8.5 x 103 BTU/lb

Embodied Water

51 L/kg 6.1 gal/lb

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)

54 to 310 MJ/m3

Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)

350 to 840 kJ/m3

Stiffness to Weight: Axial

13 points

Stiffness to Weight: Bending

24 points

Strength to Weight: Axial

21 to 72 points

Strength to Weight: Bending

20 to 45 points

Thermal Diffusivity

13 mm2/s

Thermal Shock Resistance

19 to 61 points

Alloy Composition

Among alloy steels, the composition of SAE-AISI 52100 steel is notable for containing a comparatively high amount of carbon (C). Carbon is used to increase strength at the cost of a decrease in formability.

Iron (Fe)Fe 96.5 to 97.3
Chromium (Cr)Cr 1.4 to 1.6
Carbon (C)C 0.93 to 1.1
Manganese (Mn)Mn 0.25 to 0.45
Silicon (Si)Si 0.15 to 0.35
Phosphorus (P)P 0 to 0.025
Sulfur (S)S 0 to 0.015

All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.

Followup Questions

Similar Alloys

Further Reading

ASTM A295: Standard Specification for High-Carbon Anti-Friction Bearing Steel

Sintering of Advanced Materials: Fundamentals and Processes, Zhigang Zak Fang (editor), 2010

ASM Specialty Handbook: Carbon and Alloy Steels, J. R. Davis (editor), 1996

Manufacture and Uses of Alloy Steels, Henry D. Hibbard, 2005

Steels: Processing, Structure, and Performance, 2nd ed., George Krauss, 2015