ASTM B540 Palladium Electrical Contact Alloy
ASTM B540 palladium is a precious metal alloy formulated for use in electrical contacts. It can have the highest tensile strength and a moderately low electrical conductivity among precious metal electrical contact alloys.
The properties of ASTM B540 palladium include four common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare ASTM B540 palladium to: precious metal electrical contact alloys (top), all alloys in the same category (middle), and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Mechanical Properties
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
110 GPa 16 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
1.1 to 14 %
Fatigue Strength
350 MPa 50 x 103 psi
Knoop Hardness
230 to 380
Poisson's Ratio
0.38
Shear Modulus
39 GPa 5.6 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
500 to 700 MPa 73 to 100 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
830 to 1240 MPa 120 to 180 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
620 to 1000 MPa 90 to 150 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
140 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1220 °C 2220 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1020 °C 1860 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
240 J/kg-K 0.057 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Expansion
14 µm/m-K
Other Material Properties
Density
13 g/cm3 790 lb/ft3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
4.9 to 5.5 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
3.5 to 3.9 % IACS
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
13 to 100 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
1790 to 4660 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
4.7 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
12 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
18 to 27 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
15 to 20 points
Thermal Shock Resistance
41 to 61 points
Alloy Composition
| Pd | 34 to 36 | |
| Ag | 29 to 31 | |
| Cu | 13.5 to 14.5 | |
| Au | 9.5 to 10.5 | |
| Pt | 9.5 to 10.5 | |
| Zn | 0.8 to 1.2 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.3 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM B540: Standard Specification for Palladium Electrical Contact Alloy