TECHNICAL DATA

BLUE SHEET

Stainless Steel
AL 15-5™
Precipitation Hardening Alloy
(UNS Designation S15500, ASTM Type XM-12)

GENERAL PROPERTIES FORMS AND CONDITIONS

Allegheny Ludlum’s AL 15-5™ Precipitation Hardening The Allegheny Ludlum AL 15-5 Precipitation Harden-
Alloy (S15500) is a variant of the older AL 17-4™ ing Alloy is furnished as plate. Long products are pro-
(S17400) chromium-nickel-copper precipitation harden- duced by Allvac, an Allegheny Technologies Company.
ing stainless steel. Both alloys exhibit high strength and In all forms, the material typically is furnished in the
moderate corrosion resistance. High strength is main- annealed condition.
tained to approximately 600°F (316°C).
Element Typical Composition (Weight Percent)
Carbon 0.04
The AL 15-5 alloy was designed to have greater tough-
ness than S17400, especially in the through-thickness Manganese 0.40
(short transverse) direction. This improved toughness Phosphorus 0.020
is achieved by reduced delta ferrite content and control Sulfur 0.005
of inclusion size and shape. The composition and pro- Silicon 0.50
cessing of AL 15-5 alloy is carefully controlled to mini- Chromium 15.0
mize its content of delta ferrite, which is present in the Nickel 5.0
S17400 material. Inclusion control is done by consum- Columbium + Tantalum 0.30
able electrode remelting using the electro-slag remelt-
ing (ESR) process. Copper 4.00
Iron Balance
The S15500 alloy is martensitic in structure in the an-
nealed condition and is further strengthened by a rela- SPECIFICATIONS
tively low temperature heat treatment which precipitates
The AL 15-5 Precipitation Hardening Alloy (S15500) is
a copper containing phase in the alloy. Like the S17400
covered by the following wrought product specifications.
alloy, the S15500 alloy requires only a simple heat treat-
ment; a one step process conducted at a temperature
in the range 900°F (482°C) to 1150°F (621°C) depend- Specification Product Form
ing on the combination of strength and toughness de-
AMS 5862 Sheet, Strip and Plate
sired. A wide range of properties can be produced by
this one step heat treatment. Heat treatment in the AMS 5659 Bars, Forgings, Tubing and Rings
900°F (482°C) range produces highest strength, al- AMS 5826 Welding Wire
though slightly less than those of semi-austenitic al- ASTM A 564 Bars, Wire and Shapes
loys like S17700 or S15700. The latter precipitation ASTM SA 564
hardening alloys generally require more steps to com- ASTM A 693 Sheet, Plate and Strip
plete heat treatment. The AL 15-5 alloy is generally ASME SA 693
better-suited for plate applications than are the semi-
ASTM A 705 Forgings
austenitic alloys.
ASME SA 705

™ Trademark of ATI Properties, Inc. Data are typical and should not be construed as maximum or minimum
values for specification or for final design. Data on any particular piece of
material may vary from those shown herein.
Stainless Steel Visit our Website at
AL 15-5™ Alloy www.alleghenyludlum.com

CORROSION AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

OXIDATION RESISTANCE
Condition Condition Condition Condition
Tests have shown that the corrosion resistance of A H 900 H 1075 H 1150
AL 15-5 Precipitation Hardening Alloy is comparable to
Density lb / in3 0.280 0.282 0.283 0.284
that of Type 304 stainless steel in most media. In gen-
g / cm3 7.75 7.81 7.83 7.86
eral, the corrosion resistance of AL 15-5 alloy is supe-
rior to that of the hardenable 400 series stainless steels. Linear Coefficient of
Thermal Expansion
Units of
As with other precipitation hardening alloys, AL 15-5 10-6 / °F
Precipitation Hardening Alloy is more susceptible to (10-6 / °C)
stress corrosion cracking at peak strength. Conse-
quently, in applications in which chloride stress corro- Temperature Range
sion cracking is a possibility, the material should be pre- -100 °F to +70 °F 5.8 6.0 6.1
cipitation hardened to produce the lowest hardness (-73 °C to +21 °C) (10.4) (10.8) (11.0)
compatible with the intended end use. This is done by +70 °F to 800 °F 6.3 6.5 6.8 7.2
heat treating at the highest temperature which will pro- (+21 °C to +427 °C) (11.3) (11.7) (12.2) (13.0)
duce suitable minimum properties.
Magnetic Strongly Ferromagnetic
Permeability in all Conditions
Material in the annealed condition should not generally
be put into service. In this condition, the material has Thermal Conductivity
an untempered martensite structure and is less ductile Btu - ft / hr -ft2 °F
than aged material. The untempered martensite may (W / m - K)
be subject to unpredictable brittle fractures. In corro-
sive environments, the untempered martensite is more 70 - 212 °F 10.6 10.3
sensitive to embrittling phenomena such as hydrogen (21 - 100 °C) (18.3) (17.8)
embrittlement than material which has had one of the
precipitation hardening heat treatments. Similarly, 70 - 932 °F 13.1 13.1
untempered martensite is more sensitive to chloride (21 - 500 °C) (22.7) (22.7)
stress corrosion cracking than material in which the Electrical Resistivity
martensite has been tempered. microhm-cm 98 77 80 86

The oxidation resistance of the AL 15-5 alloy is supe-

rior to that of 12 percent chromium alloys like Type 410,
but slightly inferior to that of Type 430. Precipitation hard- Condition Condition Condition Condition
ening can produce surface oxidation. A H 900 H 1075 H 1150
Modulus of Elasticity
106 psi 28.5 28.5 28.5 28.5
(GPa) (196) (196) (196) (196)

Modulus of Rigidity
106 psi 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.2
(GPa) (77.2) (77.2) (77.2) (77.2)

Data are typical and should not be construed as maximum or minimum

values for specification or for final design. Data on any particular piece of
material may vary from those shown herein. 2
Stainless Steel
AL 15-5™ Alloy Technical Data BLUE SHEET

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES SUMMARY OF

Room temperature tensile properties can vary substan- HEAT TREATING AL 15-5™ ALLOY
tially with heat treatment in the 900°F (482°C) to 1150°F
(621°C) range. Values shown below are typical room Minimum Properties Specified
temperature properties which could be expected for for Products up to 0.1875 inches (4.762 mm) thick
various precipitation hardening heat treatments as well in Aerospace Material Specification (AMS) 5862
as the 1900°F (1038°C) solution heat treatment. Heat Treat to
Produce Precipitation Heat Treatment to
Martensitic Produce Desired Strength
Structure
Condition Condition Condition Condition Yield Tensile
Precipitation
A H 900 H 1075 H 1150 Strength Strength Hardness
Hardening Heat psi psi Rc
0.2% Offset Treatment (MPa) (MPa)
Yield Strength
psi 110,000 175,000 135,000 125,000 900 °F 170,000 190,000 40
(MPa) 760 1,200 930 860 (482 °C) (1170) (1310)
60 minutes
Ultimate Tensile Condition H 900
Strength
psi 150,000 195,000 155,000 145,000 925 °F 155,000 170,000 38
(MPa) 1,030 1,340 1,070 1,000 Solution (496 °C) (1070) (1170)
Heat Treatment 4 Hours
Elongation Condition H 925
(percentage in 2") 8 15 15 15 at 1950 °F
(1066 °C) 1025 °F 145,000 155,000 33
Hardness (552 °C) (1000) (1070)
Rockwell C scale 33 43 31 28 4 Hours
Condition H 1015
1075 °F 125,000 145,000 29
(579 °C) (860) (1000)
HEAT TREATMENT Condition A 4 Hours
Allegheny Ludlum produces the AL 15-5 Precipitation Condition H 1075
(This is the
Hardening Alloy in the annealed condition. This is also condition 1100 °F 115,000 140,000 29
called the solution heat treated condition, or Condition (593 °C) (790) (965)
furnished by 4 Hours
A. Annealing is conducted by heat treating at approxi- Allegheny Condition H 1100
mately 1900°F (1040°C) to 1950°F (1065°C) and cool- Ludlum)
ing to room temperature. In this condition, the material 1150 °F 105,000 135,000 26
(621 °C) (725) (930)
possesses a martensitic structure. As a martensitic ma-
4 Hours
terial, the AL 15-5 alloy possesses a relatively high Condition H 1150
strength and hardness in the annealed condition. The
1400 °F 75,000 115,000 26
strength and hardness of the material is generally some-
(760 °C) (515) (790) to
what lower in the H 1150 overaged condition. 2 Hours + 36
1150 °F
4 Hours
To develop further increase in strength, the annealed Condition H 1150-M
material is precipitation hardened by heat treatments from SA 693
at 900°F (482°C). Heat treatments above 1075°F
(579°C) generally result in material softer than material
in the annealed condition. However, the precipitation
hardening reaction can be driven past peak strength
by heat treating at an excessively high temperature or
by extended time at the precipitation temperature.

Data are typical and should not be construed as maximum or minimum

values for specification or for final design. Data on any particular piece of
3 material may vary from those shown herein.
Stainless Steel Visit our Website at
AL 15-5™ Alloy www.alleghenyludlum.com

HEAT TREATING PARAMETERS FOR

AL 15-5™ ALLOY
Condition Temperature Time

H 900 900 °F ± 10 60 min. ± 5 min.

(482 °C ± 5)
H 925 925 °F ± 10 4 hrs. ± 0.25 hr. FORMING
(496 °C ± 5)
The tensile data for the AL 15-5 Precipitation Harden-
H 1025 ± 10 ing Alloy indicate that the alloy does not possess the
1025 °F 4 hrs. ± 0.25 hr.
high tensile elongation characteristic of the austenitic
(552 °C ± 5) stainless steels. The material is capable of being mildly
H 1075 1075 °F ± 10 formed but is not capable of being severely formed.
4 hrs. ± 0.25 hr.
Forming is more easily accomplished in the overaged
(579 °C ± 5)
condition (such as H 1150), as opposed to the annealed
H 1100 1100 °F ± 10 condition. The table on page 3 shows the effect of higher
4 hrs. ± 0.25 hr.
temperature heat treatment. A less dramatic downward
(593 °C ± 5) shift in strength results from excessively long precipita-
H 1150 1150 °F ± 10 tion hardening times. For maximum softness to pro-
4 hrs. ± 0.25 hr.
vide best machinability and formability, a two-step “1400
(621 °C ± 5) + 1150” heat treatment may be used. This treatment,
as described in ASTM A-693, involves a 2-hour expo-
sure at 1400 ± 15°F (760 ± 8°C), air cooling, and a
WELDING AND BRAZING subsequent 4-hour exposure at 1150 ± 15°F (621 ±
The AL 15-5 Precipitation Hardening Alloy is readily 8°C), and final air cooling. Properties in this condition
welded using conventional inert gas methods used for are shown in the table on Page 3.
stainless grades. Preheating is not usually required.
Postweld heat treating is needed to produce the vari-
ous precipitation hardened heat treatment properties.
If matching filler material is used, properties compa-
rable to those of the parent metal can be produced in Contact Information
the weld by postweld precipitation hardening heat treat-
ment. When a number of welding passes are made, a
substantial thermal cycling has been conducted on the
material. More uniform mechanical properties can be
obtained by solution annealing the material before con-
ducting precipitation hardening heat treatments. The
solution anneal has the effect of minimizing the effects
of the thermal cycling.
In the case of welding with non-matching filler, an aus-
tenitic stainless steel such as 308L or other ductile aus-
tenitic should be used. This filler will not produce the
precipitation hardening response, however.

Data are typical and should not be construed as maximum or minimum ©

Copyright 2002, Allegheny Ludlum
values for specification or for final design. Data on any particular piece of
material may vary from those shown herein. 4
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