2018 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 4320 Steel
2018 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 4320 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 SAE-AISI 4320 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 120 | |
| 160 to 240 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 9.6 | |
| 21 to 29 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 120 | |
| 320 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 27 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 270 | |
| 370 to 500 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 420 | |
| 570 to 790 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 310 | |
| 430 to 460 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 390 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 220 | |
| 420 |
| 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 | |
| 46 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 22 | |
| 11 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 40 | |
| 7.4 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 120 | |
| 8.5 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 11 | |
| 3.4 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 3.1 | |
| 7.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.1 | |
| 1.7 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
| 22 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 1130 | |
| 52 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 37 | |
| 140 to 150 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 670 | |
| 480 to 560 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 45 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 38 | |
| 20 to 28 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 41 | |
| 19 to 24 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 57 | |
| 13 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 19 | |
| 19 to 27 |
Alloy Composition
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| Aluminum (Al), % | 89.7 to 94.4 | |
| 0 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
| 0.17 to 0.22 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0.4 to 0.6 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 3.5 to 4.5 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 1.0 | |
| 95.8 to 97 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 0.45 to 0.9 | |
| 0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
| 0.45 to 0.65 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 0.2 to 0.3 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 1.7 to 2.3 | |
| 1.7 to 2.0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.035 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.9 | |
| 0.15 to 0.35 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 to 0.15 | |
| 0 |