Grade 15 (L53620) Lead-Base Babbitt Metal
Grade 15 Babbitt Metal is a lead alloy. Cited properties are appropriate for the as-fabricated (no temper or treatment) condition. L53620 is the UNS number for this material. Additionally, the ASTM designation is Babbitt Grade 15.
It has the lowest base cost among alloys in the same category. In addition, it has the lowest embodied energy and a fairly low heat capacity.
The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare grade 15 Babbitt Metal to: lead 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
Brinell Hardness
21
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
23 GPa 3.3 x 106 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.4
Shear Modulus
8.2 GPa 1.2 x 106 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
46 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
280 °C 540 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
250 °C 480 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
140 J/kg-K 0.035 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Expansion
26 µm/m-K
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
17 % relative
Density
10 g/cm3 650 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
3.6 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
47 MJ/kg 20 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
840 L/kg 100 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
1.2 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
9.0 points
Alloy Composition
| Pb | 79 to 83.9 | |
| Sb | 14.5 to 17.5 | |
| As | 0.8 to 1.4 | |
| Sn | 0.8 to 1.2 | |
| Cu | 0 to 0.6 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.1 | |
| Bi | 0 to 0.1 | |
| Cd | 0 to 0.050 | |
| Al | 0 to 0.0050 | |
| Zn | 0 to 0.0050 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
Engineering Properties and Applications of Lead Alloys, Sivaraman Guruswamy, 1999
ASTM B23: Standard Specification for White Metal Bearing Alloys (Known Commercially as Babbitt Metal)