ASTM Grade 40 or 275 (F12801) Grey Cast Iron
Grade 40 cast iron is grey cast iron in the as-fabricated (no temper or treatment) condition. Grade 40 is the ASTM designation for this material. F12801 is the UNS number. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare grade 40 cast iron to: cast irons (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
230
Compressive (Crushing) Strength
970 MPa 140 x 103 psi
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
180 GPa 26 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
9.6 %
Fatigue Strength
130 MPa 19 x 103 psi
Fracture Toughness
18 MPa-m1/2 16 x 103 psi-in1/2
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Shear Modulus
69 GPa 10 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
390 MPa 57 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
310 MPa 45 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
200 MPa 28 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
280 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1380 °C 2510 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1180 °C 2150 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
490 J/kg-K 0.12 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
46 W/m-K 27 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
11 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.4 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.9 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
1.9 % relative
Density
7.5 g/cm3 470 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.5 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
21 MJ/kg 9.1 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
44 L/kg 5.2 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
26 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
110 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
25 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
11 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
14 points
Thermal Diffusivity
13 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
12 points
Alloy Composition
| Fe | 92.1 to 93.9 | |
| C | 3.1 to 3.4 | |
| Si | 2.5 to 2.8 | |
| Mn | 0.5 to 0.7 | |
| P | 0 to 0.9 | |
| S | 0 to 0.15 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM A48: Standard Specification for Gray Iron Castings
Cast Iron: Physical and Engineering Properties, Harold T. Angus, 1976
Microstructure of Steels and Cast Irons, Madeleine Durand-Charre, 2004
Ferrous Materials: Steel and Cast Iron, Hans Berns and Werner Theisen, 2008
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015