2018 Aluminum vs. ASTM A514 Steel
2018 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A514 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 2018 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A514 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 120 | |
| 240 to 250 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 9.6 | |
| 18 to 21 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 120 | |
| 470 to 540 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 27 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 270 | |
| 490 to 520 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 420 | |
| 790 to 830 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 310 | |
| 690 to 770 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 390 | |
| 250 to 260 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 220 | |
| 400 to 440 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 510 | |
| 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 870 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 150 | |
| 37 to 51 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 22 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 40 | |
| 7.2 to 7.6 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 120 | |
| 8.3 to 8.8 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 11 | |
| 2.3 to 3.8 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 3.1 | |
| 7.8 to 7.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.1 | |
| 1.6 to 1.8 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
| 21 to 25 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 1130 | |
| 48 to 57 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 37 | |
| 140 to 170 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 670 | |
| 1280 to 1590 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 45 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 38 | |
| 28 to 29 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 41 | |
| 24 to 25 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 57 | |
| 10 to 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 19 | |
| 23 to 24 |