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A356.0 Aluminum vs. ACI-ASTM CE3MN Steel

A356.0 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ACI-ASTM CE3MN 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 CE3MN steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70
210
Elongation at Break, % 3.0 to 6.0
20
Fatigue Strength, MPa 50 to 90
380
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.27
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
81
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 160 to 270
770
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 83 to 200
590

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 500
300
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
1100
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 610
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
15
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
21
Density, g/cm3 2.6
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.0
4.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
58
Embodied Water, L/kg 1110
180

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 4.8 to 15
140
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 49 to 300
840
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
15
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 53
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17 to 29
27
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 25 to 36
24
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 64
4.1
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 7.6 to 13
21

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 91.1 to 93.3
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0
24 to 26
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.2
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.2
58.1 to 65.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.25 to 0.45
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 1.5
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
4.0 to 5.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
6.0 to 8.0
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.1 to 0.3
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