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A356.0 Aluminum vs. ACI-ASTM CD4MCuN Steel

A356.0 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ACI-ASTM CD4MCuN steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 A356.0 aluminum and the bottom bar is ACI-ASTM CD4MCuN steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70
200
Elongation at Break, % 3.0 to 6.0
18
Fatigue Strength, MPa 50 to 90
340
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.27
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
79
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 160 to 270
770
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 83 to 200
550

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 500
300
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
1100
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 610
1420
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1380
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
17
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 21
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
2.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
2.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
18
Density, g/cm3 2.6
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.0
3.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
49
Embodied Water, L/kg 1110
180

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 4.8 to 15
130
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 49 to 300
760
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 53
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17 to 29
28
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 25 to 36
24
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 64
4.5
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 7.6 to 13
21

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 91.1 to 93.3
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.040
Chromium (Cr), % 0
24.5 to 26.5
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.2
2.7 to 3.3
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.2
59.5 to 66.3
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.25 to 0.45
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
1.7 to 2.3
Nickel (Ni), % 0
4.7 to 6.0
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.1 to 0.25
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 6.5 to 7.5
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.1
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0