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SAE-AISI 5140 Steel vs. 2218 Aluminum

SAE-AISI 5140 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 2218 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. 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 5140 steel and the bottom bar is 2218 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 170 to 290
95 to 110
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
73
Elongation at Break, % 12 to 29
6.8 to 10
Fatigue Strength, MPa 220 to 570
110
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
27
Shear Strength, MPa 360 to 600
210 to 250
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 560 to 970
330 to 430
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 290 to 840
260 to 310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
390
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 420
220
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
510
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
870
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 45
140
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
22

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.2
37
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.3
110

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 2.1
11
Density, g/cm3 7.8
3.1
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.4
8.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 19
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 49
1130

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 76 to 180
27 to 31
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220 to 1880
450 to 650
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
45
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 20 to 34
30 to 39
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 19 to 28
34 to 41
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 12
52
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 16 to 29
15 to 19

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
88.8 to 93.6
Carbon (C), % 0.38 to 0.43
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0.7 to 0.9
0 to 0.1
Copper (Cu), % 0
3.5 to 4.5
Iron (Fe), % 97.3 to 98.1
0 to 1.0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
1.2 to 1.8
Manganese (Mn), % 0.7 to 0.9
0 to 0.2
Nickel (Ni), % 0
1.7 to 2.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.035
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.15 to 0.35
0 to 0.9
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.040
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.25
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15