Carbon Equivalent Calculator (CE and Pcm)

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Choose IIW or AWS for medium/high-carbon steels. Choose Pcm for low-carbon HSLA steels (C below 0.18%). All four values are always calculated.
Pick a common grade to auto-fill typical chemistry, or leave as Custom and enter your own mill test report values.
Carbon content in weight percent from your mill test report (MTC).
wt%
Manganese content. Typical structural steel: 0.8 to 1.6 wt%.
wt%
Silicon content. Used by AWS and Pcm formulas; IIW formula excludes Si.
wt%
Chromium content. Raises hardenability and CE significantly.
wt%
Molybdenum content. A strong hardenability booster; weight heavily in the formula.
wt%
Vanadium content. Strong carbide-former; increases HAZ hardness.
wt%
Copper content. Mild hardenability effect; present in weathering steels.
wt%
Nickel content. Improves toughness; lower hardenability contribution than Cr or Mo.
wt%
Boron content. Used only in the Pcm formula (multiplied by 5). Even trace amounts greatly increase hardenability.
wt%
CE (IIW)Good
0.4367wt%

International Institute of Welding carbon equivalent

CE (AWS D1.1)0.4783wt%
Pcm0.2667wt%
CE (JWES)0.4416wt%
Weldability (IIW)Good
Preheat guidanceNone to 75 degrees C
0.4367 wt%
Excellent<0.4Good0.4-0.45Fair0.45-0.5Poor0.5-0.6Very Poor0.6+

CE(IIW) = 0.4367 wt% - Weldability: Good

  • CE(IIW) of 0.4367 wt% places this steel in the "Good" weldability band. Indicative minimum preheat: None to 75 degrees C.
  • Pcm of 0.2667 wt% indicates high cracking susceptibility to cold cracking under the Ito-Bessyo model, which is better suited for low-carbon HSLA steels with C below 0.18 wt%.
  • With CE below 0.45, standard low-hydrogen consumables and good joint preparation are usually sufficient for most plate thicknesses under restrained conditions.
  • Preheat temperatures shown here are indicative only. Final preheat requirements also depend on plate thickness, joint restraint, hydrogen content of the process, and applicable code (AWS D1.1, EN 1011-2, or ASME).

Next stepConfirm the applicable fabrication code and check thickness-based preheat tables (e.g. AWS D1.1 Table 5.8) in addition to this CE-based estimate.

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