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2017A Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 1039 Steel

2017A aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1039 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, 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 2017A aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1039 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
190
Elongation at Break, % 2.2 to 14
14 to 18
Fatigue Strength, MPa 92 to 130
230 to 370
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
73
Shear Strength, MPa 120 to 270
380 to 420
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 200 to 460
610 to 690
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 110 to 290
340 to 580

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 220
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 510
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 880
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
51
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 34
7.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 100
8.1

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 11
1.8
Density, g/cm3 3.0
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 1140
46

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 6.7 to 53
88 to 94
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 90 to 570
310 to 890
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 46
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 19 to 42
22 to 24
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 26 to 44
20 to 22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 56
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 8.9 to 20
19 to 22

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 91.3 to 95.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.37 to 0.44
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
0
Copper (Cu), % 3.5 to 4.5
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
98.5 to 98.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.4 to 1.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 1.0
0.7 to 1.0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0.2 to 0.8
0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.25
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0