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5042 Aluminum vs. EN 1.4901 Stainless Steel

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while EN 1.4901 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 EN 1.4901 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
19
Fatigue Strength, MPa 97 to 120
310
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
76
Shear Strength, MPa 200
460
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
740
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 310
490

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
260
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
650
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1490
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1450
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
26
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 33
8.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 110
9.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
11
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
2.8
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
40
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
89

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.6 to 12
120
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 550 to 720
620
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
26
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 53
6.9
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
23

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0 to 0.020
Boron (B), % 0
0.0010 to 0.0060
Carbon (C), % 0
0.070 to 0.13
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
8.5 to 9.5
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
85.8 to 89.1
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
0.3 to 0.6
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.3 to 0.6
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.4
Niobium (Nb), % 0
0.040 to 0.090
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.030 to 0.070
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.020
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 0.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.010
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 0.010
Tungsten (W), % 0
1.5 to 2.0
Vanadium (V), % 0
0.15 to 0.25
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0
0 to 0.010
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0