ASTM A231 Spring Steel vs. Nickel 685
ASTM A231 spring steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while nickel 685 belongs to the nickel alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A231 spring steel and the bottom bar is nickel 685.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 540 | |
| 350 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 200 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 14 | |
| 17 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 1000 | |
| 470 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Reduction in Area, % | 46 | |
| 20 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 77 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 1080 | |
| 770 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 1790 | |
| 1250 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 1570 | |
| 850 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 320 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 420 | |
| 1000 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 1380 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1410 | |
| 1330 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 460 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 52 | |
| 13 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 12 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 2.3 | |
| 75 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 8.4 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 2.0 | |
| 10 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 28 | |
| 140 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 51 | |
| 340 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 230 | |
| 190 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 23 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 64 | |
| 42 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 42 | |
| 31 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 3.3 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 53 | |
| 37 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 0 | |
| 1.2 to 1.6 |
| Boron (B), % | 0 | |
| 0.0030 to 0.010 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0.48 to 0.53 | |
| 0.030 to 0.1 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0.8 to 1.1 | |
| 18 to 21 |
| Cobalt (Co), % | 0 | |
| 12 to 15 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 96.7 to 97.7 | |
| 0 to 2.0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.7 to 0.9 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 3.5 to 5.0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 49.6 to 62.5 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| 0 to 0.75 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 | |
| 2.8 to 3.3 |
| Vanadium (V), % | 0.15 to 0.3 | |
| 0 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 | |
| 0.020 to 0.12 |