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5042 Aluminum vs. S21900 Stainless Steel

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S21900 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 5042 aluminum and the bottom bar is S21900 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
50
Fatigue Strength, MPa 97 to 120
380
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
78
Shear Strength, MPa 200
510
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
710
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 310
390

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
980
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1400
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1350
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
14
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
17

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 33
2.5
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 110
2.9

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
15
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
3.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
43
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
160

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.6 to 12
300
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 550 to 720
380
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
26
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 53
3.8
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.080
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
19 to 21.5
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
59.4 to 67.4
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
8.0 to 10
Nickel (Ni), % 0
5.5 to 7.5
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.15 to 0.4
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.045
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 1.0
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