ASTM A387 Grade 21 Steel vs. C18900 Copper
ASTM A387 grade 21 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while C18900 copper belongs to the copper alloys. There are 29 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 A387 grade 21 steel and the bottom bar is C18900 copper.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 120 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 21 | |
| 14 to 48 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.34 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 74 | |
| 43 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 310 to 370 | |
| 190 to 300 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 500 to 590 | |
| 260 to 500 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 230 to 350 | |
| 67 to 390 |
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 | |
| 1020 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 390 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 41 | |
| 130 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 17 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.6 | |
| 30 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.8 | |
| 30 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 4.1 | |
| 31 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 8.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.8 | |
| 2.7 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 23 | |
| 42 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 62 | |
| 310 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 84 to 110 | |
| 65 to 95 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 140 to 320 | |
| 20 to 660 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 7.2 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 18 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 18 to 21 | |
| 8.2 to 16 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 18 to 20 | |
| 10 to 16 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 11 | |
| 38 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 17 | |
| 9.3 to 18 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0.050 to 0.15 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 2.8 to 3.3 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 97.7 to 99.15 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 94.4 to 96 | |
| 0 |
| Lead (Pb), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.3 to 0.6 | |
| 0.1 to 0.3 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.9 to 1.1 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.5 | |
| 0.15 to 0.4 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 |
| Tin (Sn), % | 0 | |
| 0.6 to 0.9 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |