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1050A Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 1046 Steel

1050A aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1046 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, 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 1050A aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1046 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 20 to 45
190 to 210
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 33
14 to 17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 22 to 55
240 to 390
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
72
Shear Strength, MPa 44 to 97
410 to 450
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 68 to 170
660 to 740
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 22 to 150
370 to 610

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 660
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 650
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 230
51
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
11

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 59
11
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 200
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.0
1.8
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 1200
46

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 1.9 to 19
91 to 95
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 3.7 to 160
360 to 990
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 6.9 to 18
23 to 26
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 14 to 25
22 to 23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 94
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 3.0 to 7.6
23 to 25

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 99.5 to 100
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.43 to 0.5
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.050
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.4
98.4 to 98.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 0 to 0.050
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.050
0.7 to 1.0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.25
0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.050
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.070
0