SAE-AISI 1038 (G10380) Carbon Steel
SAE-AISI 1038 steel is a carbon (non-alloy) steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 1038 is the designation in both the SAE and AISI systems for this material. G10380 is the UNS number.
It can have a moderately high tensile strength among the wrought carbon or non-alloy steels in the database.
The properties of SAE-AISI 1038 steel include two common variations. This page shows summary ranges across both of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare SAE-AISI 1038 steel to: wrought carbon or non-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
170 to 180
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
14 to 20 %
Fatigue Strength
220 to 350 MPa 32 to 50 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Reduction in Area
40 to 45 %
Shear Modulus
73 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
370 to 390 MPa 53 to 57 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
590 to 640 MPa 85 to 93 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
320 to 540 MPa 46 to 79 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
400 °C 750 °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
51 W/m-K 30 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
12 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.0 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
8.0 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
1.8 % relative
Density
7.8 g/cm3 490 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
1.4 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
18 MJ/kg 7.9 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
46 L/kg 5.5 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
83 to 100 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
270 to 790 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
21 to 23 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
20 to 21 points
Thermal Diffusivity
14 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
19 to 20 points
Alloy Composition
| Fe | 98.6 to 99.05 | |
| Mn | 0.6 to 0.9 | |
| C | 0.35 to 0.42 | |
| S | 0 to 0.050 | |
| P | 0 to 0.040 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM A29: Standard Specification for Steel Bars, Carbon and Alloy, Hot-Wrought, General Requirements for
Carbon Steel Handbook, D. Gandy, 2007
ASM Specialty Handbook: Carbon and Alloy Steels, J. R. Davis (editor), 1996
Ferrous Materials: Steel and Cast Iron, Hans Berns and Werner Theisen, 2008
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