Designation: A 753 – 02

Standard Specification for

Wrought Nickel-Iron Soft Magnetic Alloys (UNS K94490,
K94840, N14076, N14080)1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation A 753; 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 (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope Ballistic Test Methods2

1.1 This specification covers commonly used wrought A 343 Test Method for Alternating-Current Magnetic Prop-
nickel-iron soft magnetic alloys produced or supplied expressly erties of Materials at Power Frequencies Using Wattmeter-
for use in magnetic cores and other parts requiring high Ammeter-Voltmeter Method and 25-cm Epstein Test
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magnetic permeability, high electrical resistivity, low coercive Frame2

field strength, and low core loss. A 480/M 480M Specification for General Requirements for
1.2 This specification covers materials supplied by a pro- Flat-Rolled Stainless and Heat-Resisting Steel Plate,
ducer or converter to the form and physical condition desired Sheet, and Strip3
for fabrication into parts that will later be given a final heat A 484/A 484M Specification for General Requirements for
treatment to achieve the desired magnetic characteristics. It Stainless and Heat-Resisting Steel Bars and Shapes, Car-
covers materials supplied in the form of forging billet; hot- bon, Rolled from “T” Rails3
rolled plate, strip, and bar; cold-finished bar; cold-rolled and A 555/A 555M Specification for General Requirements for
annealed sheet and strip; shaped bar and wire; and wire. Stainless Steel Wire and Wire Rods3
1.2.1 This specification does not cover either powder met- A 596/A 596M Test Method for Direct-Current Magnetic
allurgically produced or cast parts. Properties of Materials Using the Ballistic Method and
1.2.2 This specification lists requirements for strip products Ring Specimens2
having isotropic or semi-isotropic magnetic properties but does A 772 Test Method for ac Magnetic Permeability of Mate-
not include requirements for anisotropic or square hysteresis rials Using Sinusoidal Current2
loop alloys or alloys processed to yield flattened hysteresis A 773/A 773M Test Method for dc Magnetic Properties of
loops by use of heat treatments in an applied magnetic field. Materials Using Ring and Permeameter Procedures with
1.2.3 This specification does not cover alloys modified by dc Electronic Hysteresigraphs2
the addition of elements such as sulfur and selenium to enhance E 527 Practice for Numbering Metals and Alloys (UNS)4
machinability. E 1019 Test Methods for Determination of Carbon, Sulfur,
1.3 The values stated in customary (cgs-emu and inch- Nitrogen, and Oxygen in Steel and in Iron, Nickel, and
pound) units are to be regarded as standard. The values given Cobalt Alloys5
in parentheses are mathematical conversions to SI units which 3. Terminology
are provided for information only and are not considered
standard. 3.1 The terms and symbols used in this specification are
defined in Terminology A 340.
2. Referenced Documents
4. Classification
2.1 ASTM Standards:
A 34/A 34M Practice for Sampling and Procurement Test- 4.1 Four specific alloy types are covered:
ing of Magnetic Materials2 Alloy Type UNS NumberA Nominal Range of Nickel, %B
A 340 Terminology of Symbols and Definitions Relating to 1 K94490 43.5 to 46.5
Magnetic Testing2 2 K94840 47.0 to 49.0
3 N14076 75.0 to 78.0
A 341/A 341M Test Method for Direct Current Magnetic 4 N14080 79.0 to 82.0
Properties of Materials Using dc Permeameters and the A
UNS refers to the Unified Numbering System, an alloy identification system
supported by ASTM. Refer to Practice E 527 for details.
B
Alloy Types 3 and 4 have additions of molybdenum, copper, and chromium to
1
This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee A06 on improve magnetic performance.
Magnetic Properties, and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee A06.02 on
Material Specifications.
3
Current edition approved Oct. 10, 2002. Published November 2002. Originally Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 01.03.
4
published as A 753-78. Last previous edition A 753 - 97. Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 01.01.
2 5
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 03.04. Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 03.05.

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 A 753 – 02
4.2 Alloy Type 2 in thin-strip form (thickness less than or ture into specific magnetic articles. The desired form and
equal to 0.0200 in. (0.508 mm)) is available in two different condition shall be specified and should be discussed with the
grades. Grade 1 is semi-isotropic and is recommended for use producer before ordering to assure receiving the appropriate
in transformer laminations. Grade 2 is isotropic and is recom- product. Available forms and conditions are:
mended for use in rotating machinery laminations. These 7.1.1 Forging Billet—Hot worked; hot worked with sur-
grades are the result of different mill processing (that is, faces prepared by grinding.
cold-rolling and annealing) practices and cannot be created by 7.1.2 Hot-Rolled Plate, Strip, and Bar—Hot-rolled; hot-
changes in the final heat treatment given to the laminations. rolled and acid cleaned; hot-rolled and annealed; hot-rolled,
annealed, and acid cleaned; hot-rolled and mechanically
5. Ordering Information cleaned; mechanical properties as specified.
5.1 Orders for material conforming to this specification 7.1.3 Cold-Finished Bars—Cold-drawn; cold-drawn and
shall include the following information: centerless ground; cold-drawn and annealed to specified me-
5.1.1 Reference to this specification and year of issue or chanical properties.
revision. 7.1.4 Cold-Rolled Sheet and Strip—Cold-rolled; deep draw
5.1.2 Alloy type (Section 6) and grade where appropriate. quality; cold-rolled and annealed to specified mechanical
5.1.3 Dimensions and tolerances (Section 11). properties.
5.1.4 Quantity (weight or number of pieces as appropriate). 7.1.5 Wire—Cold-drawn; cold-drawn and annealed to speci-
5.1.5 Form and condition (Section 7). fied mechanical properties.
5.1.6 Magnetic property requirements if they are other than 7.1.6 Shaped Bar and Wire—Cold-worked; cold-worked
those listed in this specification. and annealed to specified mechanical properties.
5.1.7 Certification of chemical analysis and magnetic qual-
ity evaluation. 8. Magnetic Property Requirements—General
5.1.8 Marking and packaging requirements. Requirements
5.1.9 End Use—Whenever possible, the user should specify 8.1 Test Methods—Because of the extremely high magnetic
whether the material will be machined, blanked into flat pieces, permeabilities developed in these alloys after heat treatment,
blanked and formed, deep drawn to shape, wound into a core, the use of permeameters (Test Method A 341/A 341M) is
punched into laminations, or photo-etched. This will help the expressly forbidden. Allowable test methods are those using
producer to provide the most suitable material for the user’s ring-type specimens.
fabricating practices. 8.2 Test Specimen—Whenever possible, test specimen size
5.1.10 Exceptions to this specification or special require- and shape shall conform to those listed in Practice A 34/
ments such as mechanical property requirements. A 34M. Specimen shapes such as stacked laminations, solid
rings, and spirally wound tape and wire cores are necessary for
6. Chemical Composition
the most accurate results. If, however, the product form or
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6.1 The alloys shall conform to the requirements prescribed dimensions precludes the use of a preferred test specimen, the
in Table 1. Since magnetic performance is paramount, analysis specimen shape and size shall be mutually agreed upon
variations are permitted by mutual agreement between the user between the producer and user.
and producer. 8.3 Density—The assumed densities of these materials for
6.2 Determination of metallic constituents and phosphorus purposes of magnetic testing shall be as follows:
shall be by a method(s) acceptable to both producer and user. Assumed Density
Analysis of carbon and sulfur shall be done in accordance with
Alloy Type UNS No. g/cm3 (kg/m3)
Test Methods E 1019.
1 K94490 8.17 8170
7. Form and Condition 2 K94840 8.25 8250
3 N14076 8.58 8580
7.1 These materials are capable of being produced in a wide 4 (4 % Mo) N14080 8.74 8740
variety of forms and conditions suitable for further manufac- 4 (5 % Mo) N14080 8.77 8770

8.4 Heat Treatment—The heat treatment applied to the test

TABLE 1 Chemical Requirements (Weight Percent) specimen shall be mutually agreed upon between the producer
Alloy 1 Alloy 2 Alloy 3 Alloy 4 and user. If no such agreement exists, the heat treatment
UNS K94490 UNS K94840 UNS N14076 UNS N14080
applied to the test specimen shall be chosen by the producer to
Carbon, max. 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
Manganese, max. 0.80 0.80 1.5 0.80
exceed the magnetic property requirements listed in Tables 2
Silicon, max. 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 and 3 of this specification. Refer to Appendix X2 for informa-
Phosphorus, max. 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 tion on heat treatment of these alloys.
Sulfur, max. 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Chromium 0.30 max. 0.30 max. 2.0-3.0 0.30 max.
Nickel 43.5-46.5 47.0-49.0 75.0-78.0 79.0-82.0
9. dc Magnetic Property Requirements
Molybdenum 0.30 max. 0.30 max. 0.50 max. 3.5-6.0 9.1 dc magnetic testing shall be the only magnetic test
Cobalt, max. 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50
Copper 0.30 max. 0.30 max. 4.0-6.0 0.30 max.
methods used for all product forms and sizes other than thin
IronA balance balance balance balance strip and sheet. Thin sheet and strip is defined as flat-rolled
A
Iron is the balance by difference. Quantitative analysis of this element is not product having a thickness of 0.0200 in. (0.508 mm) or less.
required. 9.2 Testing shall be conducted using either Test Method

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 A 753 – 02
TABLE 2 dc Magnetic Property Requirements

NOTE 1—The coercive field strength for Alloy Types 1 and 2 is determined from a maximum induction of 10 kG (1.0 T), while for Alloy Types 3 and
4 the coercive field strength is determined from a maximum induction of 5 kG (0.5 T).
Alloy Alloy Alloy Alloy
Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Type 4
Product Form and Size Magnetic Property
UNS UNS UNS UNS
K94490 K94840 N14076 N14080
(Relative)
Permeability at 40 G ... ... ... 35 000
(14 mT), min
(Relative)
Billet (all sizes)
Permeability at 100 G 4 500 6 000 ... 42 000
(10 mT), min
Bar, Wire, Plate, Plate Coil
(Relative) Maximum
d > 0.500 in. (12.7 mm) 35 000 50 000 ... 175 000
Permeability, min
Coercive Field
0.080 0.075 0.025
Strength, Oe (A/m), ...
(6.4) (6.0) (2.0)
max.

(Relative)
Permeability at 40 G ... ... ... 35 000
(4 mT), min
(Relative)
Bar, Wire, Plate, Plate Coil Permeability at 100 G 5 000 7 500 ... 42 000
d # 0.500 in. (10 mT), min
(12.7 mm) (Relative) Maximum
40 000 60 000 ... 175 000
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Permeability, min
Coercive Field
0.080 0.070 0.025
Strength, Oe (A/m), ...
(6.4) (5.6) (2.0)
max.

(Relative)
Permeability at 40 G ... ... ... 35 000
(4 mT), min
(Relative)
Sheet and Strip Permeability at 100 G 6 000 8 000 ... 42 000
0.0600 # d # 0.187 in. (10 mT), min
(1.52 # d # 4.75 mm) (Relative) Maximum
50 000 90 000 ... 200 000
Permeability, min
Coercive Field
0.080 0.070 0.025
Strength, Oe (A/m), ...
(6.4) (5.6) (2.01)
max.

(Relative)
Permeability at 40 g ... ... 50 000 50 000
(4 mT), min
(Relative)
Sheet and Strip
Permeability at 100 G 7 500 9 000 65 000 65 000
0.0200 < d < 0.0700 in.
(10 mT), min
(0.508 < d < 1.52 mm)
(Relative) Maximum
55 000 100 000 230 000 230 000
Permeability, min
Coercive Field 0.070 0.060 0.015 0.015
Strength, Oe (A/m), max. (5.6) (4.8) (1.2) (1.2)

A 596/A 596M or Test Method A 773/A 773M. the ac magnetic property requirements shall be as mutually
9.3 The dc magnetic property requirements after appropriate agreed between the producer and user.
heat treatment are shown in Table 2. The symbol d refers to the
minimum dimension such as thickness or diameter. 11. Typical Physical and Mechanical Properties
11.1 Typical physical and mechanical properties are listed in
10. ac Magnetic Property Requirements (Thin Sheet and Appendix X1.
Strip Only)
10.1 ac magnetic testing shall be used for all strip and sheet 12. Dimensions and Tolerances
with a thickness of 0.0200 in. (0.508 mm) or less. 12.1 Dimensions and tolerances for all product forms and
10.2 Testing shall consist of impedance permeability mea- sizes shall be as mutually agreed upon between the producer
surement and shall be conducted using Test Method A 772. and user. In lieu of such agreement, the tolerances listed in the
10.3 The ac magnetic property requirements after appropri- latest issue of the following specifications shall apply.
ate heat treatment are shown in Table 3. 12.1.1 Bars and Billets—Specification A 484/A 484M.
10.3.1 For thicknesses not listed, the requirements shall be 12.1.2 Plate, Sheet, and Strip—Specification A 480/
determined by linear interpolation of data shown in Table 3. A 480M.
10.3.2 For thicknesses outside the ranges shown in Table 3, 12.1.3 Wire and Wire Rod—Specification A 555/A 555M.

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 A 753 – 02
TABLE 3 60–Hz ac Magnetic Property Requirements 13. Rejection and Rehearing
NOTE 1—Alloy Type 2 Grade 1 is not normally produced in thickness 13.1 Material that fails to conform to the requirements of
greater than 0.014 in. (0.35 mm).
this specification may be rejected. Rejection should be reported
Minimum (Relative) Impedance Permeability (µz) to the producer promptly and in writing. In case of dissatisfac-
Alloy Type Thickness at the Peak Flux Density of:
and Grade in. (mm)
tion with the results of the test, the producer may make claim
40 G 200 G 2000 G 4000 G 8000 G
(4 mT) (20 mT) (200 mT) (400 mT) (800 mT) for a rehearing.
0.014 ... ...
10 500 15 000 32 000
Type 2 (0.35) 14. Certification
UNS 0.010 ... ...
11 000 17 000 40 000
K94840 (0.25) 14.1 When specified in the purchase order or contract, the
Grade 1 0.006 user shall be furnished certification that samples representing
12 000 18 000 44 000 ... ...
(0.15)
each lot have been either tested or inspected as directed in this
0.020
5 000 6 000 15 000 17 000 ... specification and the requirements have been met. When
(0.50)
0.014
specified in the purchase order or contract, a report of the test
6 500 12 000 27 000 40 000 41 000
(0.35) results shall be furnished to the user from the producer.
Type 2 0.010
7 000 13 000 32 000 42 000 50 000
UNS (0.25)
K94840 0.006 15. Packaging and Package Marking
7 000 14 000 31 000 41 000 57 000
Grade 2 (0.15)
0.004 15.1 Packaging shall be subject to agreement between the
4 000 7 000 30 000 41 000 55 000
(0.010) producer and user.
0.002
4 000 7 000 30 000 41 000 55 000 15.2 Material furnished under this specification shall be
(0.05)
identified by the name or symbol of the producer, alloy type,
0.020
(0.50)
30 000 33 000 45 000 ... ... grade where appropriate, heat number, and product size. Each
0.014
45 000 55 000 80 000 ... ...
heat supplied on an order must be identified and packaged
(0.35)
0.010
separately.
50 000 65 000 85 000 ... ...
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(0.25)
Type 4
0.006 16. Keywords
UNS 55 000 75 000 115 000 ... ...
(0.15)
N14080
0.004 16.1 bar; billet; nickel-iron; permeability; plate; sheet; strip;
80 000 95 000 160 000 ... ...
(0.010)
0.002 wire
60 000 80 000 200 000 ... ...
(0.05)
0.001
60 000 75 000 130 000 ... ...
(0.025)

APPENDIXES

(Nonmandatory Information)

X1. TYPICAL PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

X1.1 Typical physical and mechanical properties are listed TABLE X1.1 Typical Physical Properties of Annealed Alloy
in Tables X1.1-X1.3, respectively. These properties are pro- Alloy 1 Alloy 2 Alloy 3 Alloy 4
UNS UNS UNS UNS
vided for information only and are not subject to measurement K94490 K94840 N14076 N14080
and certification on an order.
Electrical (µV-cm) 55 49 60 60
Resistivity (µV-mm) 550 490 600 600

Saturation Induction, kG 16.0 15.5 6.9 7.8

(T) 1.60 1.55 0.69 0.78

Density, (g/cm3) 8.17 8.25 8.58 8.74-8.77

(kg/m3) 8170 8250 8580 8740-8770

Curie Temperature, °C 440 482 399 460

Mean Linear Coefficient

of Expansion, µm/m/°C
20 to 100°C 7.1 8.4 12.5 11.5
20 to 500°C 8.2 9.8 14.4 14.0
20 to 1000°C 13.4 13.5 16.2 15.9

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 A 753 – 02
TABLE X1.2 Typical Mechanical Properties of Cold-Rolled Hard
Temper Strip
Strip Items 0.100-in. (2.54-mm) Maximum Thickness
Alloy 1 Alloy 2 Alloy 3 Alloy 4
UNS UNS UNS UNS
K94490 K94840 N14076 N14080
0.2 % Offset
Yield strength (ksi) 115 135 ... 150
(MPa) 793 931 ... 1030
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Ultimate tensile
strength (ksi) 120 140 ... 160
(MPa) 827 965 1100

Elongation in 2 in.
or 50.8 mm (%) 4 2 ... 2

Hardness (HR 15T) 93 93 ... 94

TABLE X1.3 Typical Mechanical Properties of Mill Annealed Strip

Strip Items 0.100-in. (2.54-mm) Maximum Thickness
Alloy 1 Alloy 2 Alloy Alloy 4
UNS UNS UNS UNS
K94490 K94840 N14076 N14080
0.2 % offset
Yield strength (ksi) 32 30 30 32
(MPa) 220 210 210 220

Ultimate tensile
strength (ksi) 72 73 80 84
(MPa) 500 500 550 580

Elongation in 2 in. (%) 38 38 43 40

or 50.8 mm (%)

Hardness (HR 15T) 80 80 78 81

X2. HEAT TREATMENT OF TEST SPECIMENS

X2.1 Producers usually evaluate the magnetic capability of permits, even higher temperatures can be used; and
a test lot using a standard heat treatment practice which should X2.2.4 Cool to room temperature at a rate as prescribed by
be listed on the material certification. Dry hydrogen atmo- the producer. Close adherence to prescribed cooling rates is
spheres, high annealing temperatures, and prolonged heating particularly important when heat treating Alloy Types 3 or 4.
periods are used for obtaining the best magnetic performance.
X2.3 This general procedure is recommended for determi-
X2.2 The general heat treatment practice for these alloys is: nation of magnetic capability and can be used on a production
X2.2.1 Place the prepared test specimens in a sealed (leak- basis. Where applications do not require the ultimate in
free) retort or equivalent; magnetic performance, a less costly heat treatment practice can
X2.2.2 Use a circulated dry hydrogen atmosphere having an be used by the user.
entrance dewpoint of –60°F (–51°C) or lower and a free
oxygen content of less than 2 ppm; X2.4 To maintain proper qualification, it is recommended
X2.2.3 Heat to a temperature of 2050 to 2150°F (1120 to that the producer and user use a common heat treatment
1180°C) and hold for a period of 2 to 6 h. If retort construction practice to establish the acceptance quality rating of a lot.

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 A 753 – 02

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