MakeItFrom.com
Menu (ESC)

ASTM A285 Carbon Steel vs. 7020 Aluminum

ASTM A285 carbon steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 7020 aluminum belongs to the aluminum 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 ASTM A285 carbon steel and the bottom bar is 7020 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 110 to 130
45 to 100
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
70
Elongation at Break, % 30 to 34
8.4 to 14
Fatigue Strength, MPa 150 to 180
110 to 130
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
26
Shear Strength, MPa 250 to 290
110 to 230
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 380 to 450
190 to 390
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 190 to 230
120 to 310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
380
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 400
210
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1470
650
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420 to 1430
610
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
880
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 53
150
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 12
23

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.0
39
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.0
120

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 1.8
9.5
Density, g/cm3 7.9
2.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.4
8.3
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 18
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 46
1150

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 110
23 to 46
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 94 to 150
110 to 690
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
47
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 13 to 16
18 to 37
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 15 to 17
25 to 41
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 14
59
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 12 to 14
8.3 to 17