Ductile Hardened ASTM B540 Palladium Alloy
Ductile hardened ASTM B540 is ASTM B540 palladium in the cold worked (strain hardened) condition. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare ductile hardened ASTM B540 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
9.1 %
Fatigue Strength
350 MPa 50 x 103 psi
Knoop Hardness
340
Poisson's Ratio
0.38
Shear Modulus
39 GPa 5.6 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
690 MPa 100 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
1170 MPa 170 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
930 MPa 130 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
5.5 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
3.9 % IACS
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
99 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
4030 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
4.7 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
12 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
26 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
19 points
Thermal Shock Resistance
58 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
Further Reading
ASTM B540: Standard Specification for Palladium Electrical Contact Alloy