Grade VDC Steel vs. C12900 Copper
Grade VDC steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while C12900 copper belongs to the copper alloys. There are 24 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (8, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is grade VDC steel and the bottom bar is C12900 copper.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 120 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.34 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 80 | |
| 43 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 1700 | |
| 220 to 420 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 210 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 200 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1450 | |
| 1080 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1410 | |
| 1030 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 390 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 51 | |
| 380 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 17 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.1 | |
| 98 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.1 | |
| 98 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.9 | |
| 32 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 9.0 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 2.6 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 19 | |
| 41 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 47 | |
| 330 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 7.2 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 18 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 60 | |
| 6.8 to 13 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 40 | |
| 9.1 to 14 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 110 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 50 | |
| 7.8 to 15 |
Alloy Composition
| Antimony (Sb), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0030 |
| Arsenic (As), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.012 |
| Bismuth (Bi), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0030 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0.6 to 0.75 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.060 | |
| 99.88 to 100 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 98.3 to 99.35 | |
| 0 |
| Lead (Pb), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0040 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.5 to 1.0 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.020 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.3 | |
| 0 |
| Silver (Ag), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.054 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.020 | |
| 0 |
| Tellurium (Te), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.025 |