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5042 Aluminum vs. S21800 Stainless Steel

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S21800 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 26 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (9, 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 S21800 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
40
Fatigue Strength, MPa 97 to 120
330
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
75
Shear Strength, MPa 200
510
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
740
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 310
390

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
340
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
900
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1360
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1310
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
500
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
16

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
15
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.5
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
3.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
45
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
150

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.6 to 12
250
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 550 to 720
390
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
26
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
27
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
24
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
17

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.1
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
16 to 18
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
59.1 to 65.4
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
7.0 to 9.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
8.0 to 9.0
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.080 to 0.18
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.060
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
3.5 to 4.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0