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5042 Aluminum vs. AISI 321 Stainless Steel

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AISI 321 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 5042 aluminum and the bottom bar is AISI 321 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
34 to 50
Fatigue Strength, MPa 97 to 120
220 to 270
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
77
Shear Strength, MPa 200
420 to 460
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
590 to 690
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 310
220 to 350

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
870
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1430
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
16
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
17

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 33
2.4
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 110
2.7

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
16
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
3.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
45
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
140

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.6 to 12
190 to 230
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 550 to 720
130 to 310
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
21 to 25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
20 to 22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 53
4.1
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
13 to 15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.080
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
17 to 19
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
65.3 to 74
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
0 to 2.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
9.0 to 12
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0 to 0.1
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.045
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 0.75
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 0.7
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0