Grade VDC Steel vs. Grade CU5MCuC Nickel
Grade VDC steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while grade CU5MCuC nickel belongs to the nickel alloys. They have a modest 31% of their average alloy composition in common, which, by itself, doesn't mean much. There are 20 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (12, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is grade VDC steel and the bottom bar is grade CU5MCuC nickel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 200 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 80 | |
| 77 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 1700 | |
| 580 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 310 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 980 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1450 | |
| 1420 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1410 | |
| 1370 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 460 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 13 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.9 | |
| 45 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 8.2 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 7.7 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 19 | |
| 110 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 47 | |
| 230 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 60 | |
| 20 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 40 | |
| 19 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 50 | |
| 16 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.6 to 0.75 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 19.5 to 23.5 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.060 | |
| 1.5 to 3.5 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 98.3 to 99.35 | |
| 22.2 to 37.9 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.5 to 1.0 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 2.5 to 3.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 38 to 44 |
| Niobium (Nb), % | 0 | |
| 0.6 to 1.2 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.020 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.3 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.020 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |