Drawing No. EH–MT–008 // Engineering Materials
Carbon Steel Properties
Reviewed August 2026
AISI/SAE 1020 in a cold-rolled reference condition is used here as a representative low-carbon steel. Strength varies materially with product form, cold work and heat treatment, while density, elastic modulus and room-temperature thermal properties are much less condition-sensitive.
Representative properties
Switch units without changing the underlying material reference.
What changes these properties?
Engineering variability
- Yield and tensile strength shift with cold work, normalization, annealing and section size.
- Young’s modulus is comparatively stable near room temperature but falls as temperature increases.
- Thermal conductivity and heat capacity change with temperature and chemistry.
- For design, use the specification and mill certificate for the actual grade and product form.
Selection note
Useful as a general baseline for machinery, structures and fabrication when high strength-to-weight ratio or exceptional corrosion resistance is not the governing requirement.
Do not combine strength from one grade/condition with modulus, thermal data or temperature limits from another without checking compatibility. Where the overview shows a range, it is intended to expose variability—not establish allowable bounds.
Property interpretation
Stiffness vs strength
Young’s modulus controls elastic deformation. Yield or fracture strength controls how far the material can be stressed. These are separate material characteristics.
Thermal response
Thermal conductivity controls temperature gradients, specific heat contributes to thermal inertia, and expansion controls thermally induced strain when movement is restrained.
Temperature transition
The final property card is deliberately labeled “melting / transition.” Metals often have a solidus–liquidus range; amorphous polymers and glass use softening or glass-transition concepts; concrete and wood decompose instead of exhibiting one clean melt point.
Technical sources
Source hierarchy favors manufacturers, industry associations, standards bodies and government engineering references. Strength data must still be reconciled with the exact procurement specification.