ASTM B541 Gold Electrical Contact Alloy
ASTM B541 gold is a precious metal alloy formulated for use in electrical contacts. It can have a moderately high tensile strength among the precious metal electrical contact alloys in the database.
The properties of ASTM B541 gold include four common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare ASTM B541 gold 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
110 GPa 15 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
6.0 to 14 %
Knoop Hardness
220 to 340
Poisson's Ratio
0.4
Shear Modulus
38 GPa 5.5 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
410 to 690 MPa 59 to 99 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
670 to 1180 MPa 97 to 170 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
480 to 900 MPa 70 to 130 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
90 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1110 °C 2020 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
930 °C 1700 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
170 J/kg-K 0.041 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Expansion
13 µm/m-K
Other Material Properties
Density
17 g/cm3 1090 lb/ft3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
7.7 to 12 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
4.0 to 6.2 % IACS
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
65 to 91 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
1090 to 3830 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
3.4 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
9.0 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
11 to 19 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
9.8 to 14 points
Thermal Shock Resistance
36 to 63 points
Alloy Composition
| Au | 70.5 to 72.5 | |
| Cu | 13.5 to 15.5 | |
| Pt | 8.0 to 9.0 | |
| Ag | 4.0 to 5.0 | |
| Zn | 0.7 to 1.3 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.4 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM B541: Standard Specification for Gold Electrical Contact Alloy