ASTM A588 Steel vs. ASTM B541 Gold
ASTM A588 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while ASTM B541 gold belongs to the otherwise unclassified metals. There are 22 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (10, in this case) are not shown. Please note that the two materials have significantly dissimilar densities. This means that additional care is required when interpreting the data, because some material properties are based on units of mass, while others are based on units of area or volume.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A588 steel and the bottom bar is ASTM B541 gold.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 110 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 22 | |
| 6.0 to 14 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.4 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 38 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 350 | |
| 410 to 690 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 550 | |
| 670 to 1180 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 390 | |
| 480 to 900 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 to 260 | |
| 90 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 1110 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1410 to 1420 | |
| 930 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 170 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.4 | |
| 7.7 to 12 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.5 | |
| 4.0 to 6.2 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 17 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 110 | |
| 65 to 91 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 400 | |
| 1090 to 3830 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 3.4 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 9.0 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 20 | |
| 11 to 19 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 19 | |
| 9.8 to 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 16 | |
| 36 to 63 |