SAE-AISI 1042 (G10420) Carbon Steel
SAE-AISI 1042 steel is a carbon (non-alloy) steel formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 1042 is the designation in both the SAE and AISI systems for this material. G10420 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 1042 steel include three common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare SAE-AISI 1042 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
180 to 200
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
190 GPa 27 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
14 to 18 %
Fatigue Strength
230 to 370 MPa 34 to 54 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Reduction in Area
39 to 50 %
Shear Modulus
73 GPa 11 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
380 to 420 MPa 55 to 61 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
620 to 700 MPa 89 to 100 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
340 to 580 MPa 50 to 84 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
52 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)
8.1 % 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)
87 to 94 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
320 to 900 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
13 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
24 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
22 to 25 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
21 to 22 points
Thermal Diffusivity
14 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
20 to 22 points
Alloy Composition
| Fe | 98.5 to 99 | |
| Mn | 0.6 to 0.9 | |
| C | 0.4 to 0.47 | |
| 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
Microstructure of Steels and Cast Irons, Madeleine Durand-Charre, 2004
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
Steels: Processing, Structure, and Performance, 2nd ed., George Krauss, 2015