ASTM A588 HSLA Steel
ASTM A588 steel is an alloy steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. It can have a moderately low base cost among the wrought alloy steels in the same category in the database.
The properties of ASTM A588 steel include three 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 A588 steel 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
170
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
22 %
Fatigue Strength
270 MPa 40 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Shear Modulus
73 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
350 MPa 51 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
550 MPa 80 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
390 MPa 56 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 to 260 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
410 °C 770 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1460 °C 2650 to 2660 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1410 to 1420 °C 2580 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
43 to 44 W/m-K 25 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
13 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.4 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.5 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
2.3 to 2.5 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.5 to 1.6 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
20 to 22 MJ/kg 8.5 to 9.3 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
50 to 51 L/kg 6.0 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
110 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
400 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
20 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
19 points
Thermal Diffusivity
12 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
16 points
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM A588: Standard Specification for High-Strength Low-Alloy Structural Steel, up to 50 ksi [345 MPa] Minimum Yield Point, with Atmospheric Corrosion Resistance
ASTM A588: Standard Specification for High-Strength Low-Alloy Structural Steel with 50 ksi (345 MPa) Minimum Yield Point to 4 in (100 mm) Thick
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