ASTM A387 Grade 21 Steel vs. C46500 Brass
ASTM A387 grade 21 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while C46500 brass belongs to the copper alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (5, 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 C46500 brass.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 100 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 21 | |
| 18 to 50 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.31 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 74 | |
| 40 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 310 to 370 | |
| 280 to 380 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 500 to 590 | |
| 380 to 610 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 230 to 350 | |
| 190 to 490 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 260 | |
| 170 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 480 | |
| 120 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1470 | |
| 900 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1430 | |
| 890 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 380 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 41 | |
| 120 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 21 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.6 | |
| 26 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.8 | |
| 29 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 4.1 | |
| 23 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 8.0 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.8 | |
| 2.7 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 23 | |
| 47 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 62 | |
| 330 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 84 to 110 | |
| 99 to 160 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 140 to 320 | |
| 170 to 1170 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 7.2 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 20 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 18 to 21 | |
| 13 to 21 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 18 to 20 | |
| 15 to 20 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 11 | |
| 38 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 17 | |
| 13 to 20 |
Alloy Composition
| Arsenic (As), % | 0 | |
| 0.020 to 0.060 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0.050 to 0.15 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 2.8 to 3.3 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 59 to 62 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 94.4 to 96 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Lead (Pb), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.3 to 0.6 | |
| 0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.9 to 1.1 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.5 | |
| 0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 |
| Tin (Sn), % | 0 | |
| 0.5 to 1.0 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 | |
| 36.2 to 40.5 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |