ASTM A283 Carbon Steel
ASTM A283 carbon steel is a carbon (non-alloy) steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. It can have a moderately high ductility among the wrought carbon or non-alloy steels in the database.
The properties of ASTM A283 carbon steel include four 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 A283 carbon steel to: wrought carbon or non-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
110 to 140
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
26 to 34 %
Fatigue Strength
150 to 190 MPa 21 to 28 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Shear Modulus
73 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
240 to 310 MPa 35 to 45 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
360 to 480 MPa 53 to 70 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
180 to 260 MPa 27 to 38 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
400 °C 750 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1460 °C 2670 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1420 °C 2590 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
51 to 53 W/m-K 29 to 31 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
12 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.1 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.1 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
1.8 % relative
Density
7.8 to 7.9 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.4 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
18 MJ/kg 7.9 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
46 L/kg 5.4 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
100 to 110 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
91 to 180 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
13 to 17 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
14 to 17 points
Thermal Diffusivity
14 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
11 to 15 points
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM A283: Standard Specification for Low and Intermediate Tensile Strength Carbon Steel Plates
Carbon Steel Handbook, D. Gandy, 2007
ASM Specialty Handbook: Carbon and Alloy Steels, J. R. Davis (editor), 1996
Ferrous Materials: Steel and Cast Iron, Hans Berns and Werner Theisen, 2008
Steels: Processing, Structure, and Performance, 2nd ed., George Krauss, 2015