sae-j403-2001

SURFACEREV.VEHICLESAEJ403NOV2001STANDARDIssued1911-06Revised2001-11Superseding J403 JUN2000Chemical Compositions of SAE Carbon Steels1.Scope-In 1941,the SAE Iron and Steel Division,in collaboration with the American Iron and Steel Institute(AISI),made a major change in the method of expressing composition ranges for the SAE steels.The plan,asnow applied,is based in general on narrower cast or heat analysis ranges plus certain product analysisallowances on individual samples,in place of the fixed ranges and limits without tolerances formerly providedfor carbon and other elements in SAE steels.For years the variety of chemical compositions of steel has been a matter of concern in the steel industry.Itwas recognized that production of fewer grades of steel could result in improved deliveries and provide abetter opportunity to achieve advances in technology,manufacturing practices,and quality,and thus developmore fully the possibilities of application inherent in those grades.Comprehensive and impartial studies were directed toward determining which of the many grades beingspecified were the ones in most common demand,and the feasibility of combining compositions having likerequirements.From these studies,the most common grades of steel have been selected and kept in thecurrent revision.The cast or heat chemical composition limits or ranges of these grades are given in Tables 1,2,3A,and 3B.These cast or heat limits or ranges are subject to standard variations for product analysis asgiven in SAE J409.Since AISI is no longer issuing steel grade designations,grades listed in this documentare SAE grades.It is recognized that chemical compositions other than those listed in the previously mentioned tables will attimes be needed for specialized applications or processing.When such a steel is required,the elementscomprising the desired chemical composition are specified in one of three ways:(a)by a minimum limit,(b)bya maximum limit,or(c)by minimum and maximum limits,termed a range.Standard cast or heat analysis limits and ranges for the various elements of carbon steels are given in Table 4.In this table,range is the arithmetical difference between the minimum and maximum limits (that is,0.19 to0.25 is a 0.06 range).These cast or heat limits and ranges are also subject to standard variations for productanalysis as given in SAE J409.ISTC Division 1 has developed a procedure which allows for the maintenance of the grade lists in thisdocument.This will involve conducting an industry-wide survey to solicit input.This survey will be conductedat a frequency deemed necessary by the technical committee.SAE Technical Standards Board Rules provide that:"This report is published by SAE to advance the state of technical and engineering sciences.The use of this report is entirelyvoluntary,and its applicability and suitability for any particular use,including any patent infringement arising therefrom,is the sole responsibility of the user."SAE reviews each technical rep