EN 1.8903 (S460NL) Steel
EN 1.8903 steel is an alloy steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. Cited properties are appropriate for the normalized condition. 1.8903 is the EN numeric designation for this material. S460NL is the EN chemical designation.
It has a moderately high electrical conductivity among EN wrought alloy steels. In addition, it has a moderately high embodied energy and a moderately low tensile strength.
The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare EN 1.8903 steel to: EN wrought alloy 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
190
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
19 %
Fatigue Strength
330 MPa 48 x 103 psi
Impact Strength: V-Notched Charpy
58 J 43 ft-lb
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Shear Modulus
73 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
390 MPa 57 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
630 MPa 91 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
480 MPa 70 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
410 °C 760 °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
46 W/m-K 27 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
13 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.6 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.7 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
2.6 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.8 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
24 MJ/kg 10 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
51 L/kg 6.0 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
110 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
620 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
22 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
21 points
Thermal Diffusivity
12 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
18 points
Alloy Composition
Among alloy steels, the composition of EN 1.8903 steel is notable for containing a comparatively high amount of manganese (Mn) and including niobium (Nb). Manganese is used to improve hardenability, hot workability, and surface quality. There is some loss of ductility and weldability, however. Niobium is primarily used to improve yield strength.
| Fe | 95 to 99.05 | |
| Mn | 1.0 to 1.8 | |
| Ni | 0 to 0.85 | |
| Si | 0 to 0.65 | |
| Cu | 0 to 0.6 | |
| Cr | 0 to 0.35 | |
| C | 0 to 0.22 | |
| V | 0 to 0.22 | |
| Mo | 0 to 0.13 | |
| Nb | 0 to 0.060 | |
| Ti | 0 to 0.060 | |
| P | 0 to 0.030 | |
| N | 0 to 0.027 | |
| S | 0 to 0.025 | |
| Al | 0 to 0.015 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
EN 10025-3: Hot rolled products of structural steels - Part 3: Technical delivery conditions for normalized rolled weldable fine grain structural steels
Welding Metallurgy, 2nd ed., Sindo Kou, 2003
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