1.0401, DIN C15, AISI 1015

Designation by Standards

Chemical Composition (in weight %)

Description C15 is a plain carbon steel with a nominal 0.15% carbon content. It is a relatively low strength steel but it may be quenched and tempered for increased strength.  Applications The low carbon steels, such as C15, are used for applications such as cold headed fasteners and bolts. Physical properties (average values) at ambient temperature Modulus of elasticity [10³ x N/mm²]: 210  Density [g/cm³]: 7.85 Thermal conductivity [W/m.K]: 58.6  Electric resistivity [Ohm mm²/m]: 0.11 Specific heat capacity[J/g.K]: 0.46 Coefficient of Linear Thermal Expansion 10^-6 oC^-1

Soft Annealing Heat to 850-950^oC, cool slowly. This will produce a hardness of 90-100 HB. Stress Relieving Stress relieving to remove machining stresses should be carried out by heating to approx. 540^oC, holding for 1-2 hours at heat, followed by air cooling. This operation is performed to reduce distortion during heat treatment. Forging Hot forming temperature: 1200-950^oC.  Machinability Machinability of C15 steel is fairly good, especially in the cold drawn or cold worked condition. Based upon carbon steel AISI 1112 as a reference that is considered 100% machinable (easily machined) the C15 steel has a rating of 55%. Corrosion Resistance This is a plain carbon steel and has no corrosion resistance. It will rust unless protected. Welding C15 steel may be welded by all of the standard welding techniques. Cold Working C15 is easily cold worked by traditional means. Following severe cold working a stress relief, or full, anneal should be performed. Note: This steel is generally used in the annealed or case-hardened condition. It may be heat treated, quenched and tempered but the cost for so doing is generally not worth the result.