ASTM A228 Music Wire vs. C85500 Brass
ASTM A228 music wire belongs to the iron alloys classification, while C85500 brass belongs to the copper alloys. There are 28 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A228 music wire and the bottom bar is C85500 brass.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 710 | |
| 85 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 100 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 12 | |
| 40 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.31 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 72 | |
| 40 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 2450 | |
| 410 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 2050 | |
| 160 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 170 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 120 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1450 | |
| 900 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1410 | |
| 890 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 390 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 49 | |
| 120 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 21 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.1 | |
| 26 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.2 | |
| 29 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.8 | |
| 23 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 8.0 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 2.7 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 19 | |
| 46 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 45 | |
| 320 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 280 | |
| 130 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 7.3 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 20 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 87 | |
| 14 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 52 | |
| 15 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 13 | |
| 38 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 79 | |
| 14 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.7 to 1.0 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 59 to 63 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 98 to 99 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Lead (Pb), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.2 to 0.6 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.1 to 0.3 | |
| 0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 |
| Tin (Sn), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 | |
| 35.1 to 41 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.9 |