SAE-AISI M42 Steel vs. ASTM A231 Spring Steel
Both SAE-AISI M42 steel and ASTM A231 spring steel are iron alloys. They have 81% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 21 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (11, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI M42 steel and the bottom bar is ASTM A231 spring steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 190 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 78 | |
| 73 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 810 to 2310 | |
| 1790 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 270 | |
| 250 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1540 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1490 | |
| 1410 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 450 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 20 | |
| 52 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 13 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 30 | |
| 2.3 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 8.2 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 7.4 | |
| 2.0 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 100 | |
| 28 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 140 | |
| 51 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 28 to 79 | |
| 64 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 24 to 48 | |
| 42 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 5.4 | |
| 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 25 to 71 | |
| 53 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 1.1 to 1.2 | |
| 0.48 to 0.53 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 3.5 to 4.3 | |
| 0.8 to 1.1 |
| Cobalt (Co), % | 7.8 to 8.8 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 76.3 to 81 | |
| 96.7 to 97.7 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.15 to 0.4 | |
| 0.7 to 0.9 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 9.0 to 10 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.65 | |
| 0.15 to 0.35 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Tungsten (W), % | 1.2 to 1.9 | |
| 0 |
| Vanadium (V), % | 1.0 to 1.4 | |
| 0.15 to 0.3 |