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 |