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2011 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 8740 Steel

2011 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 8740 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 SAE-AISI 8740 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
190
Elongation at Break, % 8.5 to 18
11 to 23
Fatigue Strength, MPa 74 to 120
270 to 350
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
73
Shear Strength, MPa 190 to 250
370 to 400
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 310 to 420
580 to 670
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 140 to 310
380 to 570

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
410
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
39
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 35 to 45
7.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 100 to 130
8.4

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 11
2.6
Density, g/cm3 3.1
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 7.9
1.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
20
Embodied Water, L/kg 1150
50

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 29 to 52
71 to 120
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 140 to 680
390 to 850
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 44
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 27 to 37
20 to 24
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 32 to 40
20 to 22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 51 to 64
10
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14 to 19
17 to 20

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 91.3 to 94.6
0
Bismuth (Bi), % 0.2 to 0.6
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.38 to 0.43
Chromium (Cr), % 0
0.4 to 0.6
Copper (Cu), % 5.0 to 6.0
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
96.5 to 97.7
Lead (Pb), % 0.2 to 0.6
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0
0.75 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.2 to 0.3
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0.4 to 0.7
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.3
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0