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5042 Aluminum vs. S81921 Stainless Steel

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S81921 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 S81921 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
29
Fatigue Strength, MPa 97 to 120
370
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
79
Shear Strength, MPa 200
460
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
710
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 310
500

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
990
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1430
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1390
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
15
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 33
2.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 110
2.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
14
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
2.9
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
41
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
150

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.6 to 12
180
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 550 to 720
630
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 53
4.0
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
20

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
19 to 22
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
66.7 to 75.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
2.0 to 4.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
1.0 to 2.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
2.0 to 4.0
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.14 to 0.2
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
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