ASTM A148 Cast Steel
ASTM A148 cast steel is an alloy steel formulated for casting.
The properties of ASTM A148 cast steel include nine common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare ASTM A148 cast steel to: cast alloy 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
190 to 390
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
5.7 to 25 %
Fatigue Strength
280 to 670 MPa 41 to 97 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Reduction in Area
13 to 45 %
Shear Modulus
73 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
630 to 1300 MPa 91 to 190 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
390 to 1160 MPa 56 to 170 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
400 to 430 °C 760 to 800 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1460 °C 2660 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1420 °C 2580 to 2590 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
37 to 47 W/m-K 21 to 27 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
13 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.3 to 7.5 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.3 to 8.6 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
2.3 to 3.3 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.5 to 1.7 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
20 to 22 MJ/kg 8.5 to 9.4 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
48 to 53 L/kg 5.8 to 6.4 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
71 to 150 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
400 to 3570 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
22 to 46 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
21 to 34 points
Thermal Diffusivity
9.9 to 13 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
18 to 38 points
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM A148: Standard Specification for Steel Castings, High Strength, for Structural Purposes
Properties and Selection: Irons, Steels and High Performance Alloys, ASM Handbook vol. 1, ASM International, 1993
Manufacture and Uses of Alloy Steels, Henry D. Hibbard, 2005
Ferrous Materials: Steel and Cast Iron, Hans Berns and Werner Theisen, 2008
Steels: Processing, Structure, and Performance, 2nd ed., George Krauss, 2015