Designation: A434/A434M − 15

Standard Specification for

Steel Bars, Alloy, Hot-Wrought or Cold-Finished, Quenched
and Tempered1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation A434/A434M; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year
of original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.
A superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense.

1. Scope* 3.1.4 Dimensions, including length (if hot-wrought bars are

1.1 This specification covers hot-wrought and cold-finished for cold finishing, the cold-finished size should also be
quenched and tempered alloy steel bars. specified),
3.1.5 ASTM designation and date of issue,
1.2 Hot-wrought bars are available in three strength level 3.1.6 Chemical composition grade (Section 5),
classes designated BB, BC, and BD, and cold-finished bars in 3.1.7 Strength class (Table 1),
two strength level classes designated BB and BC. The bars are 3.1.8 Test report, if required (Section 11),
available in the conditions specified in 4.4 subject to the size 3.1.9 Supplementary Requirements or Special Require-
limitations shown. ments, if required, and
1.3 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units 3.1.10 End use.
are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in NOTE 1—A typical ordering description is as follows: 10 000 lb,
each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each Heat-Treated Alloy Steel Bars, Hot Rolled, 1.000 in. diameter × 10 ft,
system shall be used independently of the other. Combining ASTM A434 dated ____, Grade 4140, Class BB, Test Report Required,
values from the two systems may result in non-conformance Motor Shafts.
with the standard.
4. Materials and Manufacture
2. Referenced Documents
4.1 Melting Practice—The steel shall be made by one or
2.1 ASTM Standards:2 more of the following primary processes: open-hearth, basic-
A29/A29M Specification for General Requirements for Steel oxygen, or electric-furnace. The primary melting may incor-
Bars, Carbon and Alloy, Hot-Wrought porate separate degassing or refining and may be followed by
A108 Specification for Steel Bar, Carbon and Alloy, Cold- secondary melting using electroslag remelting or vacuum arc
Finished remelting. Where secondary melting is employed, the heat
A370 Test Methods and Definitions for Mechanical Testing shall be defined as all of the ingots remelted from a single
of Steel Products primary heat.
E112 Test Methods for Determining Average Grain Size
4.2 Discard—Sufficient discard shall be made to secure
3. Ordering Information freedom from injurious piping and undue segregation.
3.1 Orders for material under this specification should 4.3 Slow Cooling—Hot-wrought alloy bars shall, immedi-
include the following information: ately after rolling, be allowed to cool to a temperature below
3.1.1 Quantity (weight or number of pieces), the critical range under suitable conditions to prevent injury by
3.1.2 Name of material (heat-treated alloy steel bars), too rapid cooling.
3.1.3 Method of finish (condition) (4.4), 4.4 Condition—Bars shall be furnished in one of the follow-
ing conditions, as specified by the purchaser. Generally, size
1
This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee A01 on Steel,
limits for various methods of processing round bars are:
Stainless Steel and Related Alloys and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee Hot-wrought or hot-wrought descaled 91⁄2 in. [241.3 mm], max
A01.15 on Bars. Cold-drawn ⁄ to 4 in. [3.2 to 102 mm], incl
18

Current edition approved Nov. 1, 2015. Published November 2015. Originally Cold-drawn, ground, and polished 1⁄8 to 4 in. [3.2 to 102 mm], incl

approved in 1959. Last previous edition approved in 2012 as A434 – 06(2012). Turned and polished 3⁄4 to 9 in. [19.1 to 229 mm], incl

DOI: 10.1520/A0434_A0434M-15. Turned, ground, and polished 3⁄4 to 9 in. [19.1 to 229 mm], incl

2
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
4.5 Heat Treatment:
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on 4.5.1 Heat treatment shall include quenching and tempering
the ASTM website. for all classes of material. The material shall be uniformly

*A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this standard

Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States

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 A434/A434M − 15
TABLE 1 Tensile Properties
NOTE 1—The mechanical properties of hot-wrought bars ordered for cold finishing, shall be governed by the cold-finished size.
Elongation
Reduction SAE or AISI Repre-
Yield Strength, min, Tensile Strength, in 2 in. or
Class Diameter, in. [mm] of Area, sentative
ksi [MPa]A min, ksi [MPa] 50 mm,
min, % Grade TypesB
min, %
11⁄2 [38.1] and under 90 [620] 110 [760] 20 50 3100, 4100,

6
Over 11⁄2 to 21⁄2 [38.1 to 63.5], incl 80 [550] 105 [720] 20 50 8600, 8700
C
BB Over 21⁄2 to 4 [63.5 to 114], incl 75 [520] 100 [690] 20 50
Over 4 to 7 [114 to 178], incl 75 [520] 95 [660] 20 50
Over 7 to 10 [178 to 254], incl 65 [450] 90 [620] 18 40

BC C
11⁄2 [38.1] and under
Over 11⁄2 to 21⁄2 [38.1 to 63.5], incl
Over 21⁄2 to 4 [63.5 to 114], incl
110 [760]
105 [720]
95 [660]
130 [900]
125 [860]
115 [790]
16
16
16
50
50
45
J 3100, 4100, 6100,
8600, 8700

Over 4 to 7 [114 to 178], incl

Over 7 to 10 [178 to 254], incl
85 [590]
80 [550]
110 [760]
105 [720]
16
15
45
40 J 3100, 4100
4300, 9800

11⁄2 [38.1] and under 130 [900] 155 [1070] 14 35 4100, 4300,

6
Over 11⁄2 to 21⁄2 [38.1 to 63.5], incl 120 [830] 150 [1030] 14 35 9800
BDC Over 21⁄2 to 4 [63.5 to 114], incl 110 [760] 140 [960] 14 35
Over 4 to 7 [114 to 178], incl 105 [720] 135 [930] 14 35
Over 7 to 10 [178 to 254], incl 100 [690] 130 [900] 14 35
A
The carbon content of all steels listed in this column may vary up to 0.55 % max, as agreed upon by the manufacturer and the purchaser.
B
Determined by the 0.2 % offset method.
C
Class BB, BC, BD hot-wrought; Class BB, BC cold-finished.

heated to the austenitizing temperature, soaked for a sufficient 5.3 Representative grade types listed for the respective
length of time to produce the desired structure (a lot thus classes and bar sizes in Table 1 are for information only.
heated being known as a “quenching charge”), and quenched in
a suitable medium under substantially uniform conditions for 6. Grain Size
each quenching charge. The material shall then be uniformly 6.1 Requirement—The bars shall have an austenitic grain
reheated to the proper temperature for tempering (a lot thus size of 5 and finer. The grain structure shall be considered
reheated being known as a “tempering charge”), and allowed to satisfactory if 70 % is within the specified size limits.
cool uniformly. The temperature selected for tempering shall
be not less than 800°F [427°C]. 6.2 Specimens—Grain size specimens shall be taken in
4.5.2 Material cold drawn after heat treatment shall be stress accordance with Test Methods E112.
relieved, when this is necessary, in order to meet the specified 6.3 Number of Tests—Not less than one grain size test shall
mechanical properties. be made per heat.
4.5.3 Cold-finished bars may be stress relieved after
6.4 Test Method—Grain size shall be determined in accor-
straightening.
dance with the Comparison Method of Test Methods E112.
4.5.4 For heat-treated hot-wrought bars, where it is desir-
able to minimize internal stresses introduced by machine
7. Mechanical Properties
straightening, the purchaser may specify a stress relief as a
final operation. 7.1 Requirements—The material, as represented by test
4.5.5 If warpage occurs in the stress-relieving operation, the specimens, shall conform to the tensile properties in Table 1 for
bars may be restraightened without further stress-relieving, the class specified.
provided they meet the required mechanical properties. 7.2 Specimens:
7.2.1 Test specimens shall be taken longitudinally after final
5. Chemical Composition processing.
5.1 The grade of steel furnished shall be specified by the 7.2.2 Test specimens shall be selected from the locations
purchaser and shall be selected from the standard alloy grades and prepared for testing as specified in Test Methods and
in Table 2 of Specification A29/A29M, or to such other Definitions A370.
compositions as may be specified using the ranges and limits in 7.3 Number of Tests—One tension test shall be made from
Table 4 of Specification A29/A29M. each tempering or stress-relieving charge. If more than one
5.2 In all cases, the grade specified shall be capable of quenching charge is represented, one tension test shall be made
developing the required mechanical properties. If, in the from each quenching charge. If more than one heat is repre-
opinion of the manufacturer, the grade specified is not capable sented in a quenching charge, one tension test shall be made
of developing the mechanical properties, the manufacturer from each heat and size. For continuous-type treatment, one
shall notify the purchaser and whenever possible suggest an tension test shall be made for each 25 tons [22.7 Mg] of each
alternative grade. heat or size.

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 A434/A434M − 15
7.4 Test Method—Tension tests shall be made in accordance 10. General Requirements
with Test Methods and Definitions A370 using the 0.2 % offset 10.1 Material furnished under this specification shall con-
method when determining yield strength. form to the applicable requirements for the current edition of
8. Permissible Variation of Dimensions Specification A29/A29M or Specification A108.
8.1 Special Straightness—Unless otherwise specified, all 11. Certification and Report of Testing
material shall be supplied to a straightness tolerance of 1⁄8 in.
[3.18 mm] in any 5 ft [1.5 m], but may not exceed the 11.1 When specified by the purchaser, a manufacturer’s
following: certification that the material was manufactured and tested in
accordance with this specification together with a report of the
Maximum straightness deviation, in. 5 1/8 3 ~ length in feet/5 !
heat analysis, grain size, and tensile requirement test results
9. Workmanship, Finish, and Appearance shall be furnished. The report shall include the name of the
manufacturer, ASTM designation number and year date and
9.1 Workmanship—The bars shall be free of pipe, cracks,
revision letter, if any, grade, class, heat number, and size.
and flakes. Within the limits of good manufacturing and
inspection practices, the bars shall be free of injurious seams, 11.2 When Supplementary Requirement S1 is specified, the
laps, segregation, or other imperfections which, due to their report shall include a statement of compliance with the
nature, degree, or extent, will interfere with the use of the requirement or the results of tests when the requirement
material in machining or fabrication of suitable parts. involves measured test values.
9.2 Oiling—Unless otherwise specified, hot-wrought des-
caled bars and cold-finished bars shall be given a surface 12. Keywords
coating of oil or other rust inhibitor to protect against rust 12.1 alloy steel bars; cold-finished steel bars; hot-wrought
during shipment. steel bars; quenched and tempered steel bars; steel bars

SUPPLEMENTARY REQUIREMENTS

The following supplementary requirement shall be applied only when specified by the purchaser in
the inquiry, contract, or order. Details of this supplementary requirement shall be agreed upon in
writing by the manufacturer and purchaser. Supplementary requirements shall in no way negate any
requirements of the specification itself.

S1. Hardness Test

S1.1 Maximum surface Brinell hardness, if specified by the
purchaser, shall be as agreed upon between the manufacturer
and the purchaser.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

Committee A01 has identified the location of selected changes to this standard since the last issue
(A434–06(2012)) that may impact the use of this standard. (Approved Nov. 1, 2015.)

(1) Designation was changed to dual. (3) Table 1 was revised.

(2) Units statement in 1.3 was changed to a combined state-
ment.

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 A434/A434M − 15
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