2011 Aluminum vs. ASTM A572 Steel
2011 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A572 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 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 2011 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A572 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 71 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 8.5 to 18 | |
| 18 to 25 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 74 to 120 | |
| 240 to 340 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 27 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 190 to 250 | |
| 300 to 380 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 310 to 420 | |
| 470 to 620 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 140 to 310 | |
| 330 to 510 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 390 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 190 | |
| 400 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 540 | |
| 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 870 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 140 to 170 | |
| 51 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 23 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 35 to 45 | |
| 7.2 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 100 to 130 | |
| 8.2 to 8.3 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 11 | |
| 2.0 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 3.1 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 7.9 | |
| 1.6 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
| 22 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 1150 | |
| 47 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 29 to 52 | |
| 100 to 110 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 140 to 680 | |
| 290 to 690 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 44 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 27 to 37 | |
| 17 to 22 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 32 to 40 | |
| 17 to 21 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 51 to 64 | |
| 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 19 | |
| 14 to 18 |