5056 Aluminum vs. Z21210 Zinc
5056 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while Z21210 zinc belongs to the zinc alloys. There are 12 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (20, 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 5056 aluminum and the bottom bar is Z21210 zinc.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 290 to 460 | |
| 150 to 170 |
Thermal Properties
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
| 420 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 570 | |
| 420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 910 | |
| 400 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 130 | |
| 110 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 24 | |
| 32 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 29 | |
| 28 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 99 | |
| 35 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
| 7.1 |
Common Calculations
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 30 to 48 | |
| 5.7 to 6.4 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 36 to 50 | |
| 8.6 to 9.4 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 53 | |
| 38 |