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518.0 Aluminum vs. ASTM A36 Carbon Steel

518.0 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A36 carbon steel belongs to the iron alloys. 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 518.0 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A36 carbon steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 80
140
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 67
190
Elongation at Break, % 5.0
22
Fatigue Strength, MPa 140
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 25
73
Shear Strength, MPa 200
300
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 310
480
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 190
290

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 560
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 98
50
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
11

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 24
12
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 81
14

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
1.8
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 9.4
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 1160
44

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 14
92
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 270
220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 51
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 32
17
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 38
17
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 40
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
16

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 88.1 to 92.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.26
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.8
99.25 to 100
Magnesium (Mg), % 7.5 to 8.5
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.35
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.15
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.35
0 to 0.4
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Tin (Sn), % 0 to 0.15
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.15
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.25
0