C18600 Copper vs. 5042 Aluminum
C18600 copper belongs to the copper alloys classification, while 5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 29 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 C18600 copper and the bottom bar is 5042 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 120 | |
| 68 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 8.0 to 11 | |
| 1.1 to 3.4 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.34 | |
| 0.33 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 44 | |
| 26 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 310 to 340 | |
| 200 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 520 to 580 | |
| 340 to 360 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 500 to 520 | |
| 270 to 310 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 210 | |
| 400 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 200 | |
| 180 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1090 | |
| 640 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1070 | |
| 570 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 390 | |
| 900 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 280 | |
| 130 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 17 | |
| 24 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 70 | |
| 33 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 71 | |
| 110 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 31 | |
| 9.5 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 8.9 | |
| 2.7 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 2.9 | |
| 8.8 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 46 | |
| 150 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 310 | |
| 1180 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 44 to 58 | |
| 3.6 to 12 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 1060 to 1180 | |
| 550 to 720 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 7.3 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 18 | |
| 50 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 16 to 18 | |
| 35 to 37 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 16 to 17 | |
| 40 to 42 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 81 | |
| 53 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 19 to 20 | |
| 15 to 16 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 0 | |
| 94.2 to 96.8 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0.1 to 1.0 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Cobalt (Co), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 96.5 to 99.55 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0.25 to 0.8 | |
| 0 to 0.35 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 0 | |
| 3.0 to 4.0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 | |
| 0.2 to 0.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0.050 to 0.5 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.25 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 0.050 to 0.4 | |
| 0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |