AISI W5 (T72305) Water-Hardening Steel
AISI W5 steel is a tool steel. W5 is the AISI designation for this material. T72305 is the UNS number.
The properties of AISI W5 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 W5 steel to: tool 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
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Shear Modulus
72 GPa 10 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
600 to 2360 MPa 87 to 340 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
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
45 W/m-K 26 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
12 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.2 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.3 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
2.3 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.6 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
21 MJ/kg 9.2 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
48 L/kg 5.7 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
21 to 84 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
20 to 50 points
Thermal Diffusivity
12 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
20 to 78 points
Alloy Composition
Fe | 96.6 to 98.4 | |
C | 1.1 to 1.2 | |
Cr | 0.4 to 0.6 | |
Mn | 0.1 to 0.4 | |
Si | 0.1 to 0.4 | |
Ni | 0 to 0.2 | |
Cu | 0 to 0.2 | |
W | 0 to 0.15 | |
Mo | 0 to 0.1 | |
V | 0 to 0.1 | |
P | 0 to 0.030 | |
S | 0 to 0.030 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM A686: Standard Specification for Tool Steel, Carbon
Tool Steels, 5th ed., George Roberts et al., 1998
Tool Steels: Properties and Performance, Rafael A. Mesquita (editor), 2016