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1080A Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 5160 Steel

1080A aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 5160 steel belongs to the iron alloys. 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 1080A aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 5160 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 18 to 40
200 to 340
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 2.3 to 34
12 to 18
Fatigue Strength, MPa 18 to 50
180 to 650
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 49 to 81
390 to 700
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 74 to 140
660 to 1150
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 17 to 120
280 to 1010

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
420
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 640
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 230
43
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 62
7.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 200
8.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
2.1
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
19
Embodied Water, L/kg 1200
50

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.1 to 19
73 to 160
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 2.1 to 100
200 to 2700
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 7.6 to 15
23 to 41
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 14 to 22
22 to 31
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 94
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 3.3 to 6.4
19 to 34

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 99.8 to 100
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.56 to 0.61
Chromium (Cr), % 0
0.7 to 0.9
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.030
0
Gallium (Ga), % 0 to 0.030
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.15
97.1 to 97.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 0 to 0.020
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.020
0.75 to 1.0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.15
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.020
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.060
0

Comparable Variants