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2025 Aluminum vs. ASTM A266 Carbon Steel

2025 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A266 carbon 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 2025 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A266 carbon steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 110
150 to 180
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 72
190
Elongation at Break, % 15
21 to 26
Fatigue Strength, MPa 130
170 to 200
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
73
Shear Strength, MPa 240
320 to 380
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 400
500 to 600
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 260
230 to 290

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 520
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
51 to 52
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
7.1
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
8.1 to 8.2

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
1.8
Density, g/cm3 3.0
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 7.9
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18 to 19
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
46 to 47

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 55
110
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 450
140 to 230
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 46
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 37
18 to 21
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40
18 to 20
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 58
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 18
16 to 19