ASTM A387 Grade 21 Steel vs. C55181 Copper
ASTM A387 grade 21 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while C55181 copper belongs to the copper alloys. There are 20 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (13, 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 C55181 copper.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 110 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.34 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 74 | |
| 40 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 500 to 590 | |
| 200 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 260 | |
| 190 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 480 | |
| 200 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1470 | |
| 790 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1430 | |
| 710 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 410 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 16 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 4.1 | |
| 28 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 8.5 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.8 | |
| 2.4 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 23 | |
| 38 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 62 | |
| 290 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 7.0 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 19 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 18 to 21 | |
| 6.5 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 18 to 20 | |
| 8.9 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 17 | |
| 8.2 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.050 to 0.15 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 2.8 to 3.3 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 92.4 to 93 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 94.4 to 96 | |
| 0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.3 to 0.6 | |
| 0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.9 to 1.1 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 7.0 to 7.5 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.5 | |
| 0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |