SAE-AISI A8 (T30108) Air-Hardening Steel

SAE-AISI A8 steel is a tool steel. A8 is the designation in both the SAE and AISI systems for this material. T30108 is the UNS number.

The properties of SAE-AISI A8 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 A8 steel 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.

Annealed A8 Tool Steel Hardened A8 Tool Steel

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus

190 GPa 28 x 10⁶ psi

Poisson's Ratio

0.29

Shear Modulus

74 GPa 11 x 10⁶ psi

Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)

700 to 1920 MPa 100 to 280 x 10³ psi

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion

270 J/g

Melting Completion (Liquidus)

1480 °C 2690 °F

Melting Onset (Solidus)

1430 °C 2610 °F

Specific Heat Capacity

470 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F

Thermal Conductivity

37 W/m-K 21 BTU/h-ft-°F

Thermal Expansion

12 µm/m-K

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume

8.3 % IACS

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)

9.5 % IACS

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price

8.5 % relative

Density

7.9 g/cm³ 490 lb/ft³

Embodied Carbon

2.3 kg CO₂/kg material

Embodied Energy

31 MJ/kg 13 x 10³ BTU/lb

Embodied Water

73 L/kg 8.8 gal/lb

Common Calculations

PREN (Pitting Resistance)

Stiffness to Weight: Axial

14 points

Stiffness to Weight: Bending

24 points

Strength to Weight: Axial

25 to 68 points

Strength to Weight: Bending

22 to 44 points

Thermal Diffusivity

9.9 mm²/s

Thermal Shock Resistance

22 to 62 points

Alloy Composition

Iron (Fe)Fe		88.5 to 91.9
Chromium (Cr)Cr		4.8 to 5.5
Molybdenum (Mo)Mo		1.2 to 1.7
Tungsten (W)W		1.0 to 1.5
Silicon (Si)Si		0.75 to 1.1
Carbon (C)C		0.5 to 0.6
Manganese (Mn)Mn		0 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni)Ni		0 to 0.3
Copper (Cu)Cu		0 to 0.25
Phosphorus (P)P		0 to 0.030
Sulfur (S)S		0 to 0.030