C23400 Brass vs. ASTM A387 Grade 21 Steel
C23400 brass belongs to the copper alloys classification, while ASTM A387 grade 21 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 22 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 C23400 brass and the bottom bar is ASTM A387 grade 21 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 110 | |
| 190 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.32 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 42 | |
| 74 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 370 to 640 | |
| 500 to 590 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 190 | |
| 260 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 160 | |
| 480 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 970 | |
| 1470 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 930 | |
| 1430 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 390 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 120 | |
| 41 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 19 | |
| 13 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 27 | |
| 4.1 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 8.5 | |
| 7.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 2.6 | |
| 1.8 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 43 | |
| 23 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 320 | |
| 62 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 7.2 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 19 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 12 to 21 | |
| 18 to 21 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 13 to 19 | |
| 18 to 20 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 36 | |
| 11 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 12 to 22 | |
| 14 to 17 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
| 0.050 to 0.15 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 2.8 to 3.3 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 81 to 84 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.050 | |
| 94.4 to 96 |
| Lead (Pb), % | 0 to 0.050 | |
| 0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 | |
| 0.3 to 0.6 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 0.9 to 1.1 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.025 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.025 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 15.7 to 19 | |
| 0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 to 0.2 | |
| 0 |