Grade 20 Cast Iron vs. Grade VDC Steel
Both grade 20 cast iron and grade VDC steel are iron alloys. They have a moderately high 95% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 24 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (10, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is grade 20 cast iron and the bottom bar is grade VDC steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 160 | |
| 510 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 180 | |
| 190 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 69 | |
| 80 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 160 | |
| 1700 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 280 | |
| 250 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1380 | |
| 1450 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1180 | |
| 1410 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 490 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 46 | |
| 51 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 11 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.4 | |
| 7.1 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.9 | |
| 8.1 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.9 | |
| 1.9 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.5 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.5 | |
| 1.4 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 21 | |
| 19 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 44 | |
| 47 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 5.8 | |
| 60 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 8.7 | |
| 40 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 6.0 | |
| 50 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 3.1 to 3.4 | |
| 0.6 to 0.75 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.060 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 92.1 to 93.9 | |
| 98.3 to 99.35 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.5 to 0.7 | |
| 0.5 to 1.0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.9 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 2.5 to 2.8 | |
| 0.15 to 0.3 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.15 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |