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S41045 Stainless Steel vs. 2018 Aluminum

S41045 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 2018 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 S41045 stainless steel and the bottom bar is 2018 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 160
120
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
73
Elongation at Break, % 25
9.6
Fatigue Strength, MPa 160
120
Poisson's Ratio 0.28
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 76
27
Shear Strength, MPa 280
270
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 430
420
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 230
310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 270
390
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 740
220
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1450
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1400
510
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 480
870
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 29
150
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 10
22

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 2.9
40
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 3.3
120

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 8.5
11
Density, g/cm3 7.8
3.1
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 2.2
8.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 31
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 100
1130

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 92
37
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 140
670
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 25
45
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 16
38
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 16
41
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 7.8
57
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 16
19

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
89.7 to 94.4
Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.030
0
Chromium (Cr), % 12 to 13
0 to 0.1
Copper (Cu), % 0
3.5 to 4.5
Iron (Fe), % 83.8 to 88
0 to 1.0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
0.45 to 0.9
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 1.0
0 to 0.2
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.5
1.7 to 2.3
Niobium (Nb), % 0 to 0.6
0
Nitrogen (N), % 0 to 0.030
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 1.0
0 to 0.9
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.25
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15