Grade VDC Steel vs. ASTM A228 Music Wire
Both grade VDC steel and ASTM A228 music wire are iron alloys. Their average alloy composition is basically identical. There are 25 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (6, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is grade VDC steel and the bottom bar is ASTM A228 music wire.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 510 | |
| 710 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 190 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 80 | |
| 72 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 1700 | |
| 2450 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 400 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1450 | |
| 1450 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1410 | |
| 1410 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 51 | |
| 49 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 12 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.1 | |
| 7.1 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.1 | |
| 8.2 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.9 | |
| 1.8 |
| 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 | 47 | |
| 45 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 60 | |
| 87 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 40 | |
| 52 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 13 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 50 | |
| 79 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.6 to 0.75 | |
| 0.7 to 1.0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.060 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 98.3 to 99.35 | |
| 98 to 99 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.5 to 1.0 | |
| 0.2 to 0.6 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.020 | |
| 0 to 0.025 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.3 | |
| 0.1 to 0.3 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.020 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |