Hard Drawn ASTM B596 Gold-Copper Alloy
Hard drawn ASTM B596 is ASTM B596 Au-Cu in the cold worked (strain hardened) condition. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare hard drawn ASTM B596 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
4.3 %
Poisson's Ratio
0.41
Shear Modulus
36 GPa 5.2 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
360 MPa 52 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
620 MPa 89 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
77 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1060 °C 1950 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
930 °C 1710 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
150 J/kg-K 0.037 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Expansion
14 µm/m-K
Other Material Properties
Density
18 g/cm3 1140 lb/ft3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
14 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
6.7 % IACS
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
3.1 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
8.5 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
9.4 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
8.8 points
Thermal Shock Resistance
30 points
Alloy Composition
| Au | 89 to 91 | |
| Cu | 9.0 to 11 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.4 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM B596: Standard Specification for Gold-Copper Alloy Electrical Contact Material