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ASTM A36 Carbon Steel vs. 1080A Aluminum

ASTM A36 carbon steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 1080A 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 A36 carbon steel and the bottom bar is 1080A aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 140
18 to 40
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
68
Elongation at Break, % 22
2.3 to 34
Fatigue Strength, MPa 200
18 to 50
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
26
Shear Strength, MPa 300
49 to 81
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 480
74 to 140
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 290
17 to 120

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
400
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 400
170
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
640
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 50
230
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 11
23

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 12
62
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 14
200

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 1.8
9.5
Density, g/cm3 7.9
2.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.4
8.3
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 18
160
Embodied Water, L/kg 44
1200

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 92
3.1 to 19
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220
2.1 to 100
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
50
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17
7.6 to 15
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 17
14 to 22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 14
94
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 16
3.3 to 6.4

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
99.8 to 100
Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.26
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.030
Gallium (Ga), % 0
0 to 0.030
Iron (Fe), % 99.25 to 100
0 to 0.15
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
0 to 0.020
Manganese (Mn), % 0
0 to 0.020
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0 to 0.15
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.050
0
Titanium (Ti), % 0
0 to 0.020
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.060