This guide covers a group of requirements for carbon and alloy steel bars under each of the following specifications: hot-rolled carbon steel bars, cold-finished carbon steel bars, hot-rolled alloy steel bars, and cold-finished alloy steel bars. Heat and product analysis shall be performed on several grades of carbon steel bars, wherein the material shall conform to the required chemical composition for carbon, manganese, phosphorus, and sulfur. Several grades of alloy steel bars shall also undergo heat and product analysis and shall meet the required chemical composition for carbon, manganese, phosphorus, sulfur, silicon, nickel, chromium, and molybdenum. When compositions other than those indicated in the specified chemical components are required, the composition limits shall be prepared using the specified ranges and limits for carbon steel and alloy steel. The material shall undergo grain size test and shall conform to the specified grain size requirement. Mechanical tests shall also be performed on the steel test specimens.

1.1 This specification2 covers a group of common requirements which, unless otherwise specified in the purchase order or in an individual specification, shall apply to carbon and alloy steel bars under each of the following ASTM specifications (or under any other ASTM specification which invokes this specification or portions thereof):

Title of Specification

ASTM
Designation^A

Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Bars:

 Steel Bars, Carbon, Quenched and Tempered

A321

 Steel Bars and Shapes, Carbon Rolled from “T'' Rails

A499

 Steel Bars, Carbon, Merchant Quality, M-Grades

A575

 Steel Bars, Carbon, Hot-Wrought, Special Quality

A576

 Steel Bars, Carbon, Merchant Quality, Mechanical Properties

A663/A663M

 Steel Bars, Carbon, Hot-Wrought, Special Quality, Mechanical Properties

A675/A675M

 Steel Bars for Springs, Carbon and Alloy

A689

Cold-Finished Carbon Steel Bars:

 Steel Bars, Carbon and Alloy, Cold-Finished

A108

 Cold-Drawn Stress-Relieved Carbon Steel Bars Subject to Mechanical Property Requirements

A311/A311M

Hot-Rolled Alloy Steel Bars:

 Steel Bars, Alloy, Standard Grades

A322

 Carbon and Alloy Steel Bars Subject to End-Quench Hardenability Requirements

A304

 Steel Bars, Alloy, Hot-Wrought or Cold-Finished, Quenched and Tempered

A434/A434M

 Steel Bars, Alloy, Hot-Wrought, for Elevated Temperature or Pressure-Containing Parts, or Both

A739

Cold-Finished Alloy Steel Bars:

 Steel Bars, Alloy, Hot-Rolled or Cold-Finished, Quenched and Tempered

A434/A434M

 Steel Bars, Carbon, Hot-Wrought or Cold-Finished, Special Quality, for Pressure Piping Components

A696

^A These designations refer to the latest issue of the respective specifications, which appear either in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 01.05, or as reprints obtainable from ASTM.

1.2 In case of any conflict in requirements, the requirements of the purchase order, the individual material specification, and this general specification shall prevail in the sequence named.

1.3 The values stated in inch-pound units or SI units are to be regarded as the standard. Within the text, the SI units are shown in brackets. The values stated in each system are not exact equivalents; therefore, each system must be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in nonconformance with the specification.

1.4 For purposes of determining conformance to this specification and the various material specifications referenced in 1.1, dimensional values shall be rounded to the nearest unit in the right-hand place of figures used in expressing the limiting values in accordance with the rounding method of Practice E29.

Note 1: Specification A29/A29M previously listed dimensional tolerances for cold-finished bars; these are now found in Specification A108.