ASTM B563 Palladium-Silver-Copper Electrical Contact Alloy
ASTM B563 Pd-Ag-Cu is a precious metal alloy formulated for use in electrical contacts. It can have a moderately high tensile strength and a moderately low electrical conductivity among precious metal electrical contact alloys.
The properties of ASTM B563 Pd-Ag-Cu include three 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 B563 Pd-Ag-Cu 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
100 GPa 15 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
7.0 to 17 %
Knoop Hardness
210 to 350
Poisson's Ratio
0.37
Shear Modulus
37 GPa 5.4 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
470 to 690 MPa 68 to 100 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
760 to 1170 MPa 110 to 170 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
150 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1180 °C 2160 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1030 °C 1890 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
260 J/kg-K 0.063 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Expansion
14 µm/m-K
Other Material Properties
Density
11 g/cm3 690 lb/ft3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
5.6 to 6.7 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
4.6 to 5.5 % IACS
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
5.2 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
14 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
19 to 30 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
17 to 22 points
Thermal Shock Resistance
39 to 61 points
Alloy Composition
| Pd | 43 to 45 | |
| Ag | 37 to 39 | |
| Cu | 15.5 to 16.5 | |
| Ni | 0.8 to 1.2 | |
| Pt | 0.8 to 1.2 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.4 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM B563: Standard Specification for Palladium-Silver-Copper Electrical Contact Alloy
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015