ASTM A229 Spring Steel vs. Solder Alloy 121
ASTM A229 spring steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while solder alloy 121 belongs to the otherwise unclassified metals. There are 25 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (6, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A229 spring steel and the bottom bar is solder alloy 121.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 490 to 550 | |
| 11 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 21 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 14 | |
| 25 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.43 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 72 | |
| 7.5 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 1690 to 1890 | |
| 32 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 29 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1450 | |
| 290 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1410 | |
| 230 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 140 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 50 | |
| 31 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 28 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.2 | |
| 8.8 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.3 | |
| 7.4 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.8 | |
| 80 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 11 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 5.6 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 19 | |
| 93 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 46 | |
| 580 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 1.1 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 8.6 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 60 to 67 | |
| 0.84 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 40 to 43 | |
| 2.1 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 20 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 54 to 60 | |
| 3.9 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0010 |
| Antimony (Sb), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Arsenic (As), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Bismuth (Bi), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.25 |
| Cadmium (Cd), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0050 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0.55 to 0.85 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.080 |
| Gold (Au), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Indium (In), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 97.5 to 99 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |
| Lead (Pb), % | 0 | |
| 83.4 to 85.5 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.3 to 1.2 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| 0 |
| Silver (Ag), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.050 | |
| 0 |
| Tin (Sn), % | 0 | |
| 14.5 to 15.5 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0010 |