Hardened W2 Tool Steel
Hardened AISI W2 is AISI W2 steel in the hardened (H) condition. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare hardened AISI W2 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 27 x 106 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Rockwell C Hardness
74
Shear Modulus
72 GPa 10 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
2400 MPa 350 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1450 °C 2640 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1410 °C 2570 °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
12 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.2 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.3 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
2.3 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
2.0 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
29 MJ/kg 12 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
48 L/kg 5.7 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
86 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
51 points
Thermal Diffusivity
12 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
80 points
Alloy Composition
| Fe | 96.2 to 98.6 | |
| C | 0.85 to 1.5 | |
| Mn | 0.35 to 0.74 | |
| Si | 0.1 to 0.4 | |
| V | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| Ni | 0 to 0.2 | |
| Cu | 0 to 0.2 | |
| Cr | 0 to 0.15 | |
| W | 0 to 0.15 | |
| Mo | 0 to 0.1 | |
| P | 0 to 0.025 | |
| S | 0 to 0.025 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM A686: Standard Specification for Tool Steel, Carbon
Tool Steels: Properties and Performance, Rafael A. Mesquita (editor), 2016
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015