ASTM A36 Carbon Steel vs. SAE-AISI 1020 Steel
Both ASTM A36 carbon steel and SAE-AISI 1020 steel are iron alloys. Their average alloy composition is basically identical. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A36 carbon steel and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1020 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 140 | |
| 120 to 130 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 22 | |
| 17 to 28 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 200 | |
| 180 to 250 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 300 | |
| 280 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 480 | |
| 430 to 460 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 290 | |
| 240 to 380 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 400 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 50 | |
| 52 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 11 | |
| 12 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 12 | |
| 11 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 14 | |
| 12 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.8 | |
| 1.8 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 7.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 1.4 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 18 | |
| 18 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 44 | |
| 45 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 92 | |
| 72 to 100 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 220 | |
| 150 to 380 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 17 | |
| 15 to 16 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 17 | |
| 16 to 17 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 16 | |
| 13 to 14 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.26 | |
| 0.18 to 0.23 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 99.25 to 100 | |
| 99.08 to 99.52 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 | |
| 0.3 to 0.6 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.4 | |
| 0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.050 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |