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SAE-AISI T6 Steel vs. 5042 Aluminum

SAE-AISI T6 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 21 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (10, 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 T6 steel and the bottom bar is 5042 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 210
68
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 81
26
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 880 to 2150
340 to 360

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1830
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1770
570
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 400
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 18
130
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 12
24

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 70
9.5
Density, g/cm3 9.5
2.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 11
8.8
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 170
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 160
1180

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 12
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 21
50
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 26 to 63
35 to 37
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 21 to 39
40 to 42
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 4.7
53
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 26 to 64
15 to 16

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
94.2 to 96.8
Carbon (C), % 0.75 to 0.85
0
Chromium (Cr), % 4.0 to 4.8
0 to 0.1
Cobalt (Co), % 11 to 13
0
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
0 to 0.15
Iron (Fe), % 55.9 to 63.5
0 to 0.35
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
3.0 to 4.0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.4
0.2 to 0.5
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0.4 to 1.0
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.3
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.030
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.2 to 0.4
0 to 0.2
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0
Titanium (Ti), % 0
0 to 0.1
Tungsten (W), % 18.5 to 21
0
Vanadium (V), % 1.5 to 2.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.25
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15