EN 1.8961 (S235J2W) Weathering Steel
EN 1.8961 steel is an alloy steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. Cited properties are appropriate for the hot worked condition. 1.8961 is the EN numeric designation for this material. S235J2W is the EN chemical designation.
It has a very low tensile strength and a moderately high embodied energy among EN wrought alloy steels.
The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare EN 1.8961 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
130
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
19 %
Fatigue Strength
150 MPa 22 x 103 psi
Impact Strength: V-Notched Charpy
30 J 22 ft-lb
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Shear Modulus
73 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
270 MPa 39 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
430 MPa 62 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
220 MPa 32 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
410 °C 780 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1460 °C 2660 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1420 °C 2590 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
45 W/m-K 26 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
2.6 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.7 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
23 MJ/kg 9.7 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
50 L/kg 6.0 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
70 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
130 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
15 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
16 points
Thermal Diffusivity
12 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
13 points
Alloy Composition
Among alloy steels, the composition of EN 1.8961 steel is notable for including niobium (Nb) and titanium (Ti). Niobium is primarily used to improve yield strength. Titanium is used to broadly improve mechanical properties.
| Fe | 96.1 to 99.3 | |
| Cr | 0.35 to 0.85 | |
| Mn | 0.15 to 0.7 | |
| Cu | 0.2 to 0.6 | |
| Ni | 0 to 0.7 | |
| Si | 0 to 0.45 | |
| C | 0 to 0.16 | |
| V | 0 to 0.14 | |
| Ti | 0 to 0.12 | |
| Nb | 0 to 0.065 | |
| P | 0 to 0.040 | |
| S | 0 to 0.035 | |
| Al | 0 to 0.030 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
Real Material Properties of Weathering Steels Used in Bridge Structures, Vit Krivy and Petr Konecny, 2013
EN 10025-5: Hot rolled products of structural steels - Part 5: Technical delivery conditions for structural steels with improved atmospheric corrosion resistance
Welding Metallurgy, 2nd ed., Sindo Kou, 2003
ASM Specialty Handbook: Carbon and Alloy Steels, J. R. Davis (editor), 1996
Manufacture and Uses of Alloy Steels, Henry D. Hibbard, 2005
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015
Steels: Processing, Structure, and Performance, 2nd ed., George Krauss, 2015