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5049 Aluminum vs. ACI-ASTM CA6NM Steel

5049 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ACI-ASTM CA6NM 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 5049 aluminum and the bottom bar is ACI-ASTM CA6NM steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 52 to 88
250
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
200
Elongation at Break, % 2.0 to 18
17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 79 to 130
380
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
76
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210 to 330
850
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 91 to 280
620

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
280
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
770
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 620
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 140
25
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
10

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 35
2.8
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 110
3.2

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
10
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.5
2.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
34
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
110

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 6.0 to 31
130
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 59 to 570
1000
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 22 to 34
30
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 29 to 39
26
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 56
6.7
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 9.3 to 15
31

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.7 to 97.9
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.060
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.3
11.5 to 14
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
78.4 to 84.6
Magnesium (Mg), % 1.6 to 2.5
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.5 to 1.1
0 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.4 to 1.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
3.5 to 4.5
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0