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ASTM A387 Grade 21 Steel vs. EN AC-45400 Aluminum

ASTM A387 grade 21 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while EN AC-45400 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 EN AC-45400 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 150 to 180
86
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
72
Elongation at Break, % 21
6.7
Fatigue Strength, MPa 160 to 250
55
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 74
27
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 500 to 590
260
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 230 to 350
130

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 260
470
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 480
170
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1470
630
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1430
560
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
880
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 41
140
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
22

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.6
30
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.8
95

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 4.1
10
Density, g/cm3 7.9
2.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.8
7.8
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 23
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 62
1100

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 84 to 110
14
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 140 to 320
110
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
49
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 18 to 21
25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 18 to 20
32
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 11
54
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14 to 17
12

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
88.4 to 92.9
Carbon (C), % 0.050 to 0.15
0
Chromium (Cr), % 2.8 to 3.3
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
2.6 to 3.6
Iron (Fe), % 94.4 to 96
0 to 0.6
Lead (Pb), % 0
0 to 0.1
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
0 to 0.050
Manganese (Mn), % 0.3 to 0.6
0 to 0.55
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0.9 to 1.1
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.1
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.025
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
4.5 to 6.0
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.025
0
Tin (Sn), % 0
0 to 0.050
Titanium (Ti), % 0
0 to 0.25
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.2
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15