EN 1.4123 (X40CrMoVN16-2) Stainless Bearing Steel
EN 1.4123 stainless steel is a martensitic stainless steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 1.4123 is the EN numeric designation for this material. X40CrMoVN16-2 is the EN chemical designation.
It has the highest embodied energy among wrought martensitic stainless steels. In addition, it has a moderately low electrical conductivity and a moderately high base cost.
The properties of EN 1.4123 stainless steel include two common variations. This page shows summary ranges across both of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare EN 1.4123 stainless steel to: wrought martensitic stainless 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
220 to 250
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
200 GPa 28 x 106 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.28
Shear Modulus
77 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
720 to 810 MPa 100 to 120 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
280 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Corrosion
390 °C 740 °F
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
840 °C 1540 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1450 °C 2640 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1410 °C 2560 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
480 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
23 W/m-K 13 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
10 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
2.4 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
2.8 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
10 % relative
Density
7.7 g/cm3 480 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
4.2 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
62 MJ/kg 27 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
120 L/kg 14 gal/lb
Common Calculations
PREN (Pitting Resistance)
24
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
25 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
26 to 29 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
23 to 25 points
Thermal Diffusivity
6.3 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
26 to 29 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought stainless steels, the composition of EN 1.4123 stainless steel is notable for including vanadium (V). Vanadium has a strong hardening effect, but this effect is particularly sensitive to the type of tempering.
| Fe | 76.7 to 84.6 | |
| Cr | 14 to 16.5 | |
| Mo | 1.0 to 2.5 | |
| V | 0 to 1.5 | |
| Mn | 0 to 1.0 | |
| Si | 0 to 1.0 | |
| C | 0.35 to 0.5 | |
| Ni | 0 to 0.5 | |
| N | 0.1 to 0.3 | |
| P | 0 to 0.040 | |
| S | 0 to 0.030 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ISO 683-17: Heat-treated steels, alloy steels and free-cutting steels - Part 17: Ball and roller bearing steels
EN 10088-3: Stainless steels - Part 3: Technical delivery conditions for semi-finished products, bars, rods, wire, sections and bright products of corrosion resisting steels for general purposes
Welding Metallurgy and Weldability of Stainless Steels, John C. Lippold and Damian J. Kotecki, 2005
EN 10088-1: Stainless steels - Part 1: List of stainless steels
Corrosion of Stainless Steels, A. John Sedriks, 1996
Advances in Stainless Steels, Baldev Raj et al. (editors), 2010
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015