Type a steel name or number (S355J2+N, 42CrMo4+QT, 1.4401) or a line from a drawing. Below, an offered steel can be checked against the one asked for: strength figure, impact test, symbols and condition.
A whole line can be pasted, such as "Material: S355J2+N EN 10025-2" or "X5CrNi18-10 / 1.4301": the page finds the name in it. Cyrillic letters that look like Latin ones are read as Latin.
| Part | Meaning |
|---|
The check uses the names only. The EN 10204 certificate and the drawing govern.
Enter a steel name by EN 10027-1 (S355J2+N, P265GH, 42CrMo4+QT, X5CrNi18-10, HS6-5-2, G20Mn5) or a steel number by EN 10027-2 (1.4401), or paste a line from a drawing or a certificate. The page splits the name into its parts with a coloured strip and a table: the use and its figure, the impact and other symbols, the condition after the plus, the carbon and the alloying elements with their average contents, and the steel group of a number. The request line can be copied or added to the RFQ, and an offered steel can be checked against the one asked for.
Only the parts whose meaning two independent references give the same way are decoded; maker and older symbols are shown as not decoded. There are no AISI, ASTM, GOST or JIS equivalents here, no mechanical properties beyond what the name itself carries and no chemical limits: the product standard and the EN 10204 certificate give those.
A letter for the use and a figure: S structural, P pressure purposes, L line pipe, E engineering; the figure is the minimum yield strength in MPa. Then the symbols: J2 an impact energy of at least 27 J at -20 °C, N normalised, H after G on a P steel the high temperature quality. S355J2+N: 355 MPa, 27 J at -20 °C, delivered normalised or normalised rolled.
C45 is a non-alloy steel with about 0.45 % carbon. 42CrMo4 is carbon x 100 (0.42 %), then the elements and their figures with a factor: 4 / 4 = about 1 % chromium. X5CrNi18-10 has at least one element of 5 % or more, figures in per cent: about 18 % chromium and 10 % nickel. HS6-5-2 is a high speed steel: about 6 % W, 5 % Mo, 2 % V. A G in front means cast steel.
An EN 10027-2 number reads 1.xxxx: 1 is steel, two digits the steel group, then a counting number. 1.0570 is group 05, a non-alloy quality steel; 1.4401 is group 44, in the range 40 to 49 of the stainless and heat resisting steels. The number names one steel without spelling out its composition; 1.4301 and 1.4401 are different steels.
| Symbol | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| S | Structural steel; the figure is the minimum yield strength in MPa | S355 |
| P | Steel for pressure purposes; minimum yield strength in MPa | P265GH |
| L | Steel for line pipe; minimum yield strength in MPa | L360 |
| E | Engineering steel; minimum yield strength in MPa | E295 |
| B | Steel for reinforcing concrete; characteristic yield strength in MPa, then the ductility class A, B or C | B500B |
| Y | Steel for prestressing concrete; tensile strength in MPa | Y1860 |
| H | High strength flat product for cold forming; yield strength (with T: tensile strength) | HC340 |
| D | Flat product for cold forming; a grade number, not a strength | DC04 |
| M | Electrical steel; 100 x the maximum specific loss in W/kg, then 100 x the thickness in mm | M270-35 |
| J2, K2 | Impact energy at least 27 J (J), 40 J (K) or 60 J (L) at +20 °C (R), 0 °C (0) or -20 to -60 °C (2 to 6) | S355J2 |
| C | Non-alloy steel with manganese below 1 %; carbon x 100 | C45 |
| Cr, Mo | Every element below 5 %: carbon x 100, element figures divided by 4, 10, 100 or 1000 | 42CrMo4 |
| X | At least one element 5 % or more: carbon x 100, element figures in per cent | X5CrNi18-10 |
| HS | High speed steel: tungsten, molybdenum, vanadium and cobalt in per cent | HS6-5-2 |
| G | Cast steel, in front of the name | G20Mn5 |
| +N, +QT | Condition: normalised, quenched and tempered (and +AR as rolled, +A soft annealed) | 42CrMo4+QT |
| 1.xxxx | Steel number: 1 is steel, two digits the steel group, then a counting number | 1.4401 |
The page decodes every example in this table the same way. The figures of a name are the minimum, maximum or average values the name itself carries; the limits and the values for other thicknesses are in the product standard.
The structure is EN 10027-1:2016 (Tables 1 to 11 for names by use, 12 to 15 for names by composition, 16 to 18 for the plus symbols) and EN 10027-2:2015 for steel numbers. The meaning of each part is checked against two independent references: reference articles on steel names and numbers, the notes of a steel mill and of a steel construction association on EN 10027-1, a steel naming guide, notes on the reinforcing steel and pressure vessel steel standards, and makers' data. Where the references differ or only one gives a meaning (the rail figure, the tinmill figure, the electrical steel type letter, D or X as the second letter of D and H names, the PM prefix, the stainless sub-groups of the numbers), the part is shown as not decoded.
S is a structural steel. 355 is the minimum yield strength, 355 MPa, for the smallest thickness range of the product standard. J2 is a notched bar impact energy of at least 27 J at a test temperature of -20 °C. +N is the delivery condition: normalised or normalised rolled. The tensile strength, the elongation and the values for thicker sizes are not in the name: they are in the product standard (for S355J2, EN 10025-2) and on the certificate.
The first figure is 100 times the average carbon content: 42 is about 0.42 % carbon. Then come the alloying elements, chromium and molybdenum, and the figures for them in the same order. The figure is the average content times a factor: 4 for Cr, Co, Mn, Ni, Si and W; 10 for Al, Be, Cu, Mo, Nb, Pb, Ta, Ti, V and Zr; 100 for Ce, N, P and S; 1000 for B. So the 4 of 42CrMo4 is 4 / 4 = about 1 % chromium, and molybdenum has no figure. These are averages; the limits are in the product standard.
X marks a steel in which at least one alloying element is 5 % or more, stainless steels among them. The first figure is still 100 times the carbon: 5 is about 0.05 % carbon. The figures after the symbols are per cent without a factor: about 18 % chromium and about 10 % nickel. The limits of each element are in the product standard.
It is a material number by EN 10027-2. The 1 stands for steel; the next two digits are the steel group (40 to 49: stainless and heat resisting steels); the last digits are a counting number that tells the steels of a group apart. The number names one steel but does not spell out its composition. 1.4301 and 1.4401 are two different steels.
No. Equivalents between standards are not exact and the published tables differ from each other, so this page gives none. The certificate (EN 10204) or the drawing governs. The offered steel check compares EN names and numbers only.
Enter the offered steel under the one asked for. The same name is the same steel. S355J0 offered for S355J2 does not meet: its impact test is at 0 °C instead of -20 °C. A lower strength figure does not meet; a higher one is marked to check against the drawing. 1.4301 offered for 1.4401 is a different steel. The check covers only what the names show; the certificate governs.
A decoded name is a cross-check, not proof. Attach the drawing, the parts list or the EN 10204 certificate, and Vessel Core checks the name, the number and the delivery condition before an offer goes back.
