Commercially Pure Palladium
Commercially pure palladium is a precious metal alloy formulated for use in electrical contacts.
The properties of commercially pure palladium 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 commercially pure palladium 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
120 GPa 18 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
1.1 to 11 %
Knoop Hardness
68 to 130
Poisson's Ratio
0.39
Shear Modulus
43 GPa 6.3 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
120 to 200 MPa 17 to 29 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
200 to 380 MPa 28 to 55 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
160 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1550 °C 2830 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1550 °C 2830 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
240 J/kg-K 0.057 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Expansion
12 µm/m-K
Other Material Properties
Density
12 g/cm3 750 lb/ft3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
16 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
12 % IACS
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
5.6 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
14 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
4.5 to 8.8 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
6.2 to 9.7 points
Thermal Shock Resistance
9.8 to 19 points
Alloy Composition
| Pd | 99.8 to 100 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.2 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM B683: Standard Specification for Pure Palladium Electrical Contact Material