EN 1.5538 Steel vs. Grade VDC Steel
Both EN 1.5538 steel and grade VDC steel are iron alloys. Their average alloy composition is basically identical.
For each property being compared, the top bar is EN 1.5538 steel and the bottom bar is grade VDC steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 160 to 190 | |
| 510 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 190 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Reduction in Area, % | 64 to 69 | |
| 50 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 80 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 530 to 1810 | |
| 1700 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 400 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 1450 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1410 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 51 | |
| 51 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.2 | |
| 7.1 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.3 | |
| 8.1 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 2.0 | |
| 1.9 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 1.4 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 19 | |
| 19 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 48 | |
| 47 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 19 to 64 | |
| 60 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 19 to 42 | |
| 40 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 16 to 53 | |
| 50 |
Alloy Composition
| Boron (B), % | 0.00080 to 0.0050 | |
| 0 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0.35 to 0.4 | |
| 0.6 to 0.75 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0 to 0.060 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 97.2 to 98.5 | |
| 98.3 to 99.35 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 1.2 to 1.5 | |
| 0.5 to 1.0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0.15 to 0.3 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |