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5050 Aluminum vs. ACI-ASTM CA6N Steel

5050 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ACI-ASTM CA6N steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (6, 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 5050 aluminum and the bottom bar is ACI-ASTM CA6N steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.7 to 22
17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 45 to 100
640
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
75
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 140 to 250
1080
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 50 to 210
1060

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
280
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
740
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1440
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 630
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 190
23
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
9.9

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 50
2.6
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 170
3.0

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
11
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.4
2.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
35
Embodied Water, L/kg 1190
110

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 4.1 to 24
180
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 18 to 330
2900
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 15 to 26
38
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 22 to 33
30
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 79
6.1
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 6.3 to 11
40

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 96.3 to 98.9
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.060
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
10.5 to 12.5
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.2
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
77.9 to 83.5
Magnesium (Mg), % 1.1 to 1.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
6.0 to 8.0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.020
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.020
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0