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ASTM A387 Grade 5 Steel vs. EN AC-46400 Aluminum

ASTM A387 grade 5 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while EN AC-46400 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 5 steel and the bottom bar is EN AC-46400 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 150 to 180
77 to 120
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
72
Elongation at Break, % 20 to 21
1.1 to 1.7
Fatigue Strength, MPa 160 to 240
75 to 85
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 74
27
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 500 to 600
170 to 310
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 230 to 350
110 to 270

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 260
520
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 510
170
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
610
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
570
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
890
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 40
130
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
22

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 8.0
33
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 9.2
110

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 4.3
9.5
Density, g/cm3 7.8
2.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.7
7.8
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 23
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 69
1070

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 83 to 110
1.7 to 4.9
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 140 to 320
82 to 500
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
15
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 25
52
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 18 to 21
18 to 32
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 18 to 20
26 to 38
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 11
55
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14 to 17
7.8 to 14

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
85.4 to 90.5
Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.15
0
Chromium (Cr), % 4.0 to 6.0
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0.8 to 1.3
Iron (Fe), % 92.1 to 95.3
0 to 0.8
Lead (Pb), % 0
0 to 0.1
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
0.25 to 0.65
Manganese (Mn), % 0.3 to 0.6
0.15 to 0.55
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0.45 to 0.65
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.2
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.025
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
8.3 to 9.7
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.025
0
Tin (Sn), % 0
0 to 0.1
Titanium (Ti), % 0
0 to 0.2
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.8
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.25