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Grade VDC Steel vs. 1050A Aluminum

Grade VDC steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 1050A aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 25 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (7, 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 grade VDC steel and the bottom bar is 1050A aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 510
20 to 45
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
68
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 80
26
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 1700
68 to 170

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
400
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 400
170
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1450
660
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1410
650
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 51
230
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
24

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.1
59
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.1
200

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 1.9
9.0
Density, g/cm3 7.8
2.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.4
8.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 19
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 47
1200

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
50
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 60
6.9 to 18
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40
14 to 25
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 14
94
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 50
3.0 to 7.6

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
99.5 to 100
Carbon (C), % 0.6 to 0.75
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.3
0
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.060
0 to 0.050
Iron (Fe), % 98.3 to 99.35
0 to 0.4
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
0 to 0.050
Manganese (Mn), % 0.5 to 1.0
0 to 0.050
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.020
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.15 to 0.3
0 to 0.25
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.020
0
Titanium (Ti), % 0
0 to 0.050
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.070