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SAE-AISI 4161 Steel vs. 3102 Aluminum

SAE-AISI 4161 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 3102 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, 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 SAE-AISI 4161 steel and the bottom bar is 3102 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
69
Elongation at Break, % 20
23 to 28
Fatigue Strength, MPa 290
31 to 34
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
26
Shear Strength, MPa 420
58 to 65
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 680
92 to 100
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 410
28 to 34

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
400
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 420
180
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1410
640
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 43
230
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 12
23

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.3
56
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.4
190

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 2.5
9.0
Density, g/cm3 7.8
2.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.5
8.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 20
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 50
1190

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 120
16 to 22
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 460
5.8 to 8.3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
50
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 24
9.4 to 10
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 22
17 to 18
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 12
92
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 22
4.1 to 4.4

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
97.9 to 99.95
Carbon (C), % 0.56 to 0.64
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0.7 to 0.9
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.1
Iron (Fe), % 96.7 to 97.6
0 to 0.7
Manganese (Mn), % 0.75 to 1.0
0.050 to 0.4
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0.25 to 0.35
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.035
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.15 to 0.35
0 to 0.4
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.040
0
Titanium (Ti), % 0
0 to 0.1
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.3
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15