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ASTM A387 Grade 21 Steel vs. 6014 Aluminum

ASTM A387 grade 21 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 6014 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, 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 ASTM A387 grade 21 steel and the bottom bar is 6014 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
69
Elongation at Break, % 21
9.1 to 17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 160 to 250
43 to 79
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 74
26
Shear Strength, MPa 310 to 370
96 to 150
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 500 to 590
160 to 260
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 230 to 350
80 to 200

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 260
400
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 480
180
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1470
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1430
620
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 41
200
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
23

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.6
53
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.8
180

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 4.1
9.5
Density, g/cm3 7.9
2.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.8
8.6
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 23
160
Embodied Water, L/kg 62
1190

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 84 to 110
22
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 140 to 320
46 to 300
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
50
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 18 to 21
16 to 26
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 18 to 20
24 to 33
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 11
83
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14 to 17
7.0 to 11

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
97.1 to 99.2
Carbon (C), % 0.050 to 0.15
0
Chromium (Cr), % 2.8 to 3.3
0 to 0.2
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 94.4 to 96
0 to 0.35
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
0.4 to 0.8
Manganese (Mn), % 0.3 to 0.6
0.050 to 0.2
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0.9 to 1.1
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.025
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
0.3 to 0.6
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.025
0
Titanium (Ti), % 0
0 to 0.1
Vanadium (V), % 0
0.050 to 0.2
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.1
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15