SAE-AISI D4 (T30404) Chromium Cold-Work Steel

SAE-AISI D4 steel is a tool steel. D4 is the designation in both the SAE and AISI systems for this material. T30404 is the UNS number. It has the lowest melting temperature among the tool steels in the database.

The properties of SAE-AISI D4 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 D4 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 D4 Tool Steel Hardened D4 Tool Steel

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus

190 GPa 28 x 10⁶ psi

Elongation at Break

8.4 to 15 %

Fatigue Strength

310 to 920 MPa 45 to 130 x 10³ psi

Poisson's Ratio

0.28

Shear Modulus

74 GPa 11 x 10⁶ psi

Shear Strength

460 to 1210 MPa 67 to 180 x 10³ psi

Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)

760 to 2060 MPa 110 to 300 x 10³ psi

Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)

470 to 1540 MPa 69 to 220 x 10³ psi

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion

270 J/g

Melting Completion (Liquidus)

1430 °C 2600 °F

Melting Onset (Solidus)

1380 °C 2520 °F

Specific Heat Capacity

480 J/kg-K 0.11 BTU/lb-°F

Thermal Conductivity

31 W/m-K 18 BTU/h-ft-°F

Thermal Expansion

12 µm/m-K

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume

4.2 % IACS

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)

5.0 % IACS

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price

8.0 % relative

Density

7.7 g/cm³ 480 lb/ft³

Embodied Carbon

3.3 kg CO₂/kg material

Embodied Energy

49 MJ/kg 21 x 10³ BTU/lb

Embodied Water

100 L/kg 12 gal/lb

Common Calculations

PREN (Pitting Resistance)

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)

100 to 160 MJ/m³

Stiffness to Weight: Axial

14 points

Stiffness to Weight: Bending

25 points

Strength to Weight: Axial

27 to 75 points

Strength to Weight: Bending

24 to 47 points

Thermal Diffusivity

8.3 mm²/s

Thermal Shock Resistance

23 to 63 points

Alloy Composition

Iron (Fe)Fe		80.6 to 86.3
Chromium (Cr)Cr		11 to 13
Carbon (C)C		2.1 to 2.4
Molybdenum (Mo)Mo		0.7 to 1.2
Vanadium (V)V		0 to 1.0
Manganese (Mn)Mn		0 to 0.6
Silicon (Si)Si		0 to 0.6
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