Grade VDC Steel vs. SAE-AISI 4140 Steel
Both grade VDC steel and SAE-AISI 4140 steel are iron alloys. They have a very high 99% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 25 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (7, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is grade VDC steel and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 4140 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 510 | |
| 200 to 310 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 190 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 80 | |
| 73 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 1700 | |
| 690 to 1080 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 420 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1450 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1410 | |
| 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 51 | |
| 43 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.1 | |
| 7.3 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.1 | |
| 8.4 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.9 | |
| 2.4 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 1.5 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 19 | |
| 20 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 47 | |
| 51 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 60 | |
| 25 to 38 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 40 | |
| 22 to 30 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 12 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 50 | |
| 20 to 32 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.6 to 0.75 | |
| 0.38 to 0.43 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0.8 to 1.1 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.060 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 98.3 to 99.35 | |
| 96.8 to 97.8 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.5 to 1.0 | |
| 0.75 to 1.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 0.15 to 0.25 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.020 | |
| 0 to 0.035 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.3 | |
| 0.15 to 0.35 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.020 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |