Hardened D4 Tool Steel
Hardened SAE-AISI D4 is SAE-AISI D4 steel in the hardened (H) condition. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare hardened SAE-AISI D4 to: tool 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
190 GPa 28 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
8.4 %
Fatigue Strength
920 MPa 130 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.28
Rockwell C Hardness
63
Shear Modulus
74 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
1210 MPa 180 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
2060 MPa 300 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
1540 MPa 220 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
270 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1430 °C 2600 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1380 °C 2520 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
480 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
31 W/m-K 18 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
12 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
4.2 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
5.0 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
8.0 % relative
Density
7.7 g/cm3 480 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
3.3 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
49 MJ/kg 21 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
100 L/kg 12 gal/lb
Common Calculations
PREN (Pitting Resistance)
15
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
160 MJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
25 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
75 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
47 points
Thermal Diffusivity
8.3 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
63 points
Alloy Composition
| Fe | 80.6 to 86.3 | |
| Cr | 11 to 13 | |
| C | 2.1 to 2.4 | |
| Mo | 0.7 to 1.2 | |
| V | 0 to 1.0 | |
| Mn | 0 to 0.6 | |
| Si | 0 to 0.6 | |
| Ni | 0 to 0.3 | |
| Cu | 0 to 0.25 | |
| P | 0 to 0.030 | |
| S | 0 to 0.030 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM A681: Standard Specification for Tool Steels Alloy
Tool Steels, 5th ed., George Roberts et al., 1998
Tool Steels: Properties and Performance, Rafael A. Mesquita (editor), 2016
ASM Specialty Handbook: Carbon and Alloy Steels, J. R. Davis (editor), 1996
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015