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5021 Aluminum vs. S41045 Stainless Steel

5021 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S41045 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 5021 aluminum and the bottom bar is S41045 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
25
Fatigue Strength, MPa 85 to 110
160
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
76
Shear Strength, MPa 170
280
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 300 to 310
430
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 240 to 270
230

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
270
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
740
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 590
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 140
29
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
10

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 35
2.9
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
3.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
8.5
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.6
2.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
31
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
100

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.1 to 10
92
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 440 to 550
140
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 30 to 32
16
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 37
16
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 57
7.8
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13 to 14
16

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.2 to 97.7
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.15
12 to 13
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
83.8 to 88
Magnesium (Mg), % 2.2 to 2.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.1 to 0.5
0 to 1.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.5
Niobium (Nb), % 0
0 to 0.6
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0 to 0.030
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.15
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0