ASTM B541 Gold vs. Grade VDC Steel
ASTM B541 gold belongs to the otherwise unclassified metals classification, while grade VDC steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 17 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (15, 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 B541 gold and the bottom bar is grade VDC steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 110 | |
| 190 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.4 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 38 | |
| 80 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 670 to 1180 | |
| 1700 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 90 | |
| 250 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1110 | |
| 1450 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 930 | |
| 1410 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 170 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.7 to 12 | |
| 7.1 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 4.0 to 6.2 | |
| 8.1 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 17 | |
| 7.8 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 3.4 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 9.0 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 11 to 19 | |
| 60 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 9.8 to 14 | |
| 40 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 36 to 63 | |
| 50 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
| 0.6 to 0.75 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 13.5 to 15.5 | |
| 0 to 0.060 |
| Gold (Au), % | 70.5 to 72.5 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 | |
| 98.3 to 99.35 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 | |
| 0.5 to 1.0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |
| Platinum (Pt), % | 8.0 to 9.0 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 | |
| 0.15 to 0.3 |
| Silver (Ag), % | 4.0 to 5.0 | |
| 0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0.7 to 1.3 | |
| 0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 to 0.4 | |
| 0 |