Grade VDC Steel vs. Class 4 Tungsten
Grade VDC steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while class 4 tungsten belongs to the otherwise unclassified metals. There are 20 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (11, 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 grade VDC steel and the bottom bar is class 4 tungsten.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 270 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 80 | |
| 110 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 1700 | |
| 790 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 170 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 130 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 51 | |
| 30 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 4.5 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.1 | |
| 17 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.1 | |
| 9.7 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 16 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 24 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 19 | |
| 360 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 47 | |
| 150 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 9.6 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 14 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 60 | |
| 14 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 40 | |
| 12 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 15 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 50 | |
| 46 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.6 to 0.75 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.060 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 98.3 to 99.35 | |
| 0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.5 to 1.0 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.020 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.3 | |
| 0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.020 | |
| 0 |
| Tungsten (W), % | 0 | |
| 97 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 3.0 |