EN 1.4938 (X12CrNiMoV12-3) Stainless Steel
EN 1.4938 stainless steel is a martensitic stainless steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 1.4938 is the EN numeric designation for this material. X12CrNiMoV12-3 is the EN chemical designation.
It has a fairly high embodied energy among wrought martensitic stainless steels. In addition, it has a moderately high base cost and can have a moderately high tensile strength.
The properties of EN 1.4938 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 1.4938 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
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
200 GPa 28 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
16 to 17 %
Fatigue Strength
390 to 520 MPa 57 to 75 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.28
Shear Modulus
76 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
540 to 630 MPa 78 to 92 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
870 to 1030 MPa 130 to 150 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
640 to 870 MPa 93 to 130 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
270 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Corrosion
390 °C 730 °F
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
750 °C 1380 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1460 °C 2660 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1420 °C 2580 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
30 W/m-K 17 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
11 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
2.9 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
3.3 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
10 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
3.3 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
47 MJ/kg 20 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
110 L/kg 13 gal/lb
Common Calculations
PREN (Pitting Resistance)
18
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
140 to 160 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
1050 to 1920 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
25 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
31 to 37 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
26 to 29 points
Thermal Diffusivity
8.1 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
30 to 35 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought stainless steels, the composition of EN 1.4938 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 | 80.5 to 84.8 | |
| Cr | 11 to 12.5 | |
| Ni | 2.0 to 3.0 | |
| Mo | 1.5 to 2.0 | |
| Mn | 0.4 to 0.9 | |
| V | 0.25 to 0.4 | |
| Si | 0 to 0.5 | |
| C | 0.080 to 0.15 | |
| N | 0.020 to 0.040 | |
| P | 0 to 0.025 | |
| S | 0 to 0.015 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
EN 10302: Creep resisting steels, nickel and cobalt alloys
EN 10269: Steels and nickel alloys for fasteners with specified elevated and/or low temperature properties
Machining of Stainless Steels and Super Alloys: Traditional and Nontraditional Techniques, Helmi A. Youssef, 2016
Creep-Resistant Steels, Fujio Abe et al. (editors), 2008
EN 10088-1: Stainless steels - Part 1: List of stainless steels
Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels, Erich Folkhard et al., 2012
Corrosion of Stainless Steels, A. John Sedriks, 1996
Advances in Stainless Steels, Baldev Raj et al. (editors), 2010