ASTM A285 Carbon Steel vs. SAE-AISI 4340 Steel
Both ASTM A285 carbon steel and SAE-AISI 4340 steel are iron alloys.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A285 carbon steel and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 4340 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 110 to 130 | |
| 210 to 360 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 30 to 34 | |
| 12 to 22 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 150 to 180 | |
| 330 to 740 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 250 to 290 | |
| 430 to 770 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 380 to 450 | |
| 690 to 1280 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 190 to 230 | |
| 470 to 1150 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 430 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1470 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 to 1430 | |
| 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 53 | |
| 44 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.0 | |
| 7.5 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.0 | |
| 8.6 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.8 | |
| 3.5 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 1.7 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 18 | |
| 22 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 46 | |
| 53 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 110 | |
| 79 to 170 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 94 to 150 | |
| 590 to 3490 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 13 to 16 | |
| 24 to 45 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 15 to 17 | |
| 22 to 33 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 12 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 12 to 14 | |
| 20 to 38 |