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SAE-AISI 4161 Steel vs. 8021 Aluminum

SAE-AISI 4161 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 8021 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 29 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 SAE-AISI 4161 steel and the bottom bar is 8021 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
70
Elongation at Break, % 20
2.3
Fatigue Strength, MPa 290
61
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
26
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 680
160
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 410
130

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
400
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 420
170
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
650
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1410
640
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 43
220
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
180

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 2.5
9.0
Density, g/cm3 7.8
2.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.5
8.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 20
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 50
1180

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 120
3.4
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 460
130
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
49
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 24
16
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 22
23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 12
88
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 22
7.0

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
98 to 98.8
Carbon (C), % 0.56 to 0.64
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0.7 to 0.9
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.050
Iron (Fe), % 96.7 to 97.6
1.2 to 1.7
Manganese (Mn), % 0.75 to 1.0
0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0.25 to 0.35
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.035
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.15 to 0.35
0 to 0.15
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.040
0
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15