ASTM A387 Grade 12 Steel vs. C12900 Copper
ASTM A387 grade 12 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while C12900 copper belongs to the copper alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ASTM A387 grade 12 steel and the bottom bar is C12900 copper.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 120 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 25 | |
| 2.8 to 50 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.34 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 43 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 300 to 330 | |
| 150 to 210 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 470 to 520 | |
| 220 to 420 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 260 to 310 | |
| 75 to 380 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 210 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 430 | |
| 200 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1470 | |
| 1080 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1030 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 390 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 44 | |
| 380 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 17 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.2 | |
| 98 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.3 | |
| 98 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 2.8 | |
| 32 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 9.0 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.6 | |
| 2.6 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 21 | |
| 41 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 51 | |
| 330 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 98 to 110 | |
| 11 to 88 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 180 to 250 | |
| 24 to 640 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 7.2 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 18 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 16 to 18 | |
| 6.8 to 13 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 17 to 18 | |
| 9.1 to 14 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 12 | |
| 110 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 15 | |
| 7.8 to 15 |
Alloy Composition
| Antimony (Sb), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0030 |
| Arsenic (As), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.012 |
| Bismuth (Bi), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0030 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0.050 to 0.17 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0.8 to 1.2 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 99.88 to 100 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 97 to 98.2 | |
| 0 |
| Lead (Pb), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0040 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.4 to 0.65 | |
| 0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.45 to 0.6 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.4 | |
| 0 |
| Silver (Ag), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.054 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.025 | |
| 0 |
| Tellurium (Te), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.025 |