ASTM A387 Grade 21 Steel vs. C14181 Copper
ASTM A387 grade 21 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while C14181 copper belongs to the copper alloys. There are 26 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (7, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A387 grade 21 steel and the bottom bar is C14181 copper.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 120 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 21 | |
| 15 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.34 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 74 | |
| 43 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 500 to 590 | |
| 210 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 230 to 350 | |
| 130 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 260 | |
| 210 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 480 | |
| 200 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1470 | |
| 1080 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1430 | |
| 1080 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 390 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 41 | |
| 380 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 17 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 4.1 | |
| 31 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 9.0 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.8 | |
| 2.6 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 23 | |
| 41 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 62 | |
| 310 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 84 to 110 | |
| 28 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 140 to 320 | |
| 69 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 7.2 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 18 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 18 to 21 | |
| 6.5 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 18 to 20 | |
| 8.8 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 11 | |
| 110 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 17 | |
| 7.4 |
Alloy Composition
| Cadmium (Cd), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0020 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0.050 to 0.15 | |
| 0 to 0.0050 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 2.8 to 3.3 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 99.9 to 100 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 94.4 to 96 | |
| 0 |
| Lead (Pb), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0020 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.3 to 0.6 | |
| 0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.9 to 1.1 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 to 0.0020 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.5 | |
| 0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0020 |