Hardened M48 Tool Steel
Hardened SAE-AISI M48 is SAE-AISI M48 steel in the hardened (H) condition. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare hardened SAE-AISI M48 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
200 GPa 29 x 106 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Rockwell C Hardness
74
Shear Modulus
78 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
2390 MPa 350 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
260 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1670 °C 3040 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1620 °C 2950 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
420 J/kg-K 0.1 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Expansion
12 µm/m-K
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
48 % relative
Density
8.7 g/cm3 550 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
13 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
190 MJ/kg 83 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
160 L/kg 19 gal/lb
Common Calculations
PREN (Pitting Resistance)
37
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
22 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
76 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
45 points
Thermal Shock Resistance
71 points
Alloy Composition
| Fe | 63.8 to 69.8 | |
| W | 9.5 to 10.5 | |
| Co | 8.0 to 10 | |
| Mo | 4.8 to 5.5 | |
| Cr | 3.5 to 4.0 | |
| V | 2.8 to 3.3 | |
| C | 1.4 to 1.5 | |
| Mn | 0.15 to 0.4 | |
| Si | 0.15 to 0.4 | |
| 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 A600: Standard Specification for Tool Steel High Speed
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