ASTM A36 Carbon Steel vs. Grade 50 Cast Iron
Both ASTM A36 carbon steel and grade 50 cast iron are iron alloys. Both are furnished in the as-fabricated (no temper or treatment) condition. They have a moderately high 93% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A36 carbon steel and the bottom bar is grade 50 cast iron.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 140 | |
| 260 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 180 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 22 | |
| 9.6 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 200 | |
| 150 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 69 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 300 | |
| 500 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 480 | |
| 380 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 290 | |
| 230 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 280 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 1380 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1180 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 490 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 50 | |
| 46 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 11 | |
| 11 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 12 | |
| 7.4 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 14 | |
| 8.9 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.8 | |
| 1.9 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 7.5 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 1.5 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 18 | |
| 21 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 44 | |
| 44 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 92 | |
| 32 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 220 | |
| 150 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 17 | |
| 14 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 17 | |
| 16 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 13 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 16 | |
| 15 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.26 | |
| 3.1 to 3.4 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 99.25 to 100 | |
| 92.1 to 93.9 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 | |
| 0.5 to 0.7 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 to 0.9 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.4 | |
| 2.5 to 2.8 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.050 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |