AISI 422 (Alloy 616, S42200) Stainless Steel
AISI 422 stainless steel is a martensitic stainless steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 422 is the AISI designation for this material. S42200 is the UNS number. And Alloy 616 is the common industry name.
It has the highest electrical conductivity among wrought martensitic stainless steels. In addition, it has a moderately high embodied energy and a moderately high base cost.
The properties of AISI 422 stainless steel include two common variations. This page shows summary ranges across both of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare AISI 422 stainless steel to: wrought martensitic stainless 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
260 to 330
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
200 GPa 28 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
15 to 17 %
Fatigue Strength
410 to 500 MPa 59 to 73 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.28
Reduction in Area
34 to 40 %
Rockwell C Hardness
21
Shear Modulus
76 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
560 to 660 MPa 81 to 95 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
910 to 1080 MPa 130 to 160 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
670 to 870 MPa 97 to 130 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
270 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Corrosion
380 °C 720 °F
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
650 °C 1200 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1480 °C 2700 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1470 °C 2680 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
24 W/m-K 14 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
10 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
4.7 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
5.3 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
11 % relative
Density
7.9 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
3.1 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
44 MJ/kg 19 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
100 L/kg 12 gal/lb
Common Calculations
PREN (Pitting Resistance)
17
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
140 to 150 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
1140 to 1910 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
25 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
32 to 38 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
26 to 30 points
Thermal Diffusivity
6.4 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
33 to 39 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought stainless steels, the composition of AISI 422 stainless steel is notable for including tungsten (W) and vanadium (V). Tungsten interacts with other alloying elements to a greater extent than usual, which makes it hard to broadly characterize its effects. Vanadium has a strong hardening effect, but this effect is particularly sensitive to the type of tempering.
Fe | 81.9 to 85.8 | |
Cr | 11 to 12.5 | |
Mo | 0.9 to 1.3 | |
W | 0.9 to 1.3 | |
Mn | 0.5 to 1.0 | |
Ni | 0.5 to 1.0 | |
Si | 0 to 0.5 | |
V | 0.2 to 0.3 | |
C | 0.2 to 0.25 | |
P | 0 to 0.025 | |
S | 0 to 0.025 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM A565: Standard Specification for Martensitic Stainless Steel Bars for High-Temperature Service
ASTM A176: Standard Specification for Stainless and Heat-Resisting Chromium Steel Plate, Sheet, and Strip
ASTM A276: Standard Specification for Stainless Steel Bars and Shapes
Advanced Materials in Automotive Engineering, Jason Rowe (editor), 2012
ASTM A959: Standard Guide for Specifying Harmonized Standard Grade Compositions for Wrought Stainless Steels
Corrosion of Stainless Steels, A. John Sedriks, 1996
ASM Specialty Handbook: Stainless Steels, J. R. Davis (editor), 1994
Advances in Stainless Steels, Baldev Raj et al. (editors), 2010