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2024 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 4340M Steel

2024 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 4340M steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (6, in this case) are not shown. Please note that the two materials have significantly dissimilar densities. This means that additional care is required when interpreting the data, because some material properties are based on units of mass, while others are based on units of area or volume.

For each property being compared, the top bar is 2024 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 4340M steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
190
Elongation at Break, % 4.0 to 16
6.0
Fatigue Strength, MPa 90 to 180
690
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
72
Shear Strength, MPa 130 to 320
1360
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 200 to 540
2340
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 100 to 490
1240

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
280
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 200
430
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1440
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 500
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 880
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 120
38
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 30
7.8
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 90
9.1

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 11
3.9
Density, g/cm3 3.0
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
1.9
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
26
Embodied Water, L/kg 1140
55

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 20 to 68
120
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 70 to 1680
4120
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 46
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 18 to 50
84
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 25 to 49
51
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 46
10
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 8.6 to 24
70

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 90.7 to 94.7
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.38 to 0.43
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
0.7 to 1.0
Copper (Cu), % 3.8 to 4.9
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
93.3 to 94.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 1.2 to 1.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.3 to 0.9
0.65 to 0.9
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.35 to 0.45
Nickel (Ni), % 0
1.7 to 2.0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.012
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
1.5 to 1.8
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.012
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Vanadium (V), % 0
0.050 to 0.1
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0 to 0.2
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0