ASTM A372 Grade E Class 55 Steel
ASTM A372 grade E class 55 is ASTM A372 grade E steel in the normalized condition. ASTM A372 Grade E Class 55 is the ASTM designation for this material. Older literature may refer to this material as Type V Grade 1 Class 55, but this is now discouraged.
It has the lowest strength and highest ductility compared to the other variants of ASTM A372 grade E steel.
The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare ASTM A372 grade E class 55 to: wrought alloy steels in the same category (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
200
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
22 %
Fatigue Strength
310 MPa 45 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Shear Modulus
73 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
410 MPa 60 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
650 MPa 95 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
430 MPa 63 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
420 °C 790 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1460 °C 2660 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1420 °C 2590 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
44 W/m-K 26 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
13 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
2.4 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.5 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
20 MJ/kg 8.5 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
51 L/kg 6.0 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
130 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
500 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
23 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
21 points
Thermal Diffusivity
12 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
19 points
Alloy Composition
| Fe | 97 to 98.3 | |
| Cr | 0.8 to 1.2 | |
| Mn | 0.4 to 0.9 | |
| C | 0.25 to 0.35 | |
| Si | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| Mo | 0.15 to 0.25 | |
| P | 0 to 0.015 | |
| S | 0 to 0.010 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM A372: Standard Specification for Carbon and Alloy Steel Forgings for Thin-Walled Pressure Vessels
Pressure Vessels: External Pressure Technology, 2nd ed., Carl T. F. Ross, 2011
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
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015
Steels: Processing, Structure, and Performance, 2nd ed., George Krauss, 2015