MakeItFrom.com
Menu (ESC)

2018 Aluminum vs. ACI-ASTM CC50 Steel

2018 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ACI-ASTM CC50 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 25 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (8, 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 2018 aluminum and the bottom bar is ACI-ASTM CC50 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 120
210
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 73
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.27
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
80
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 420
430

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
300
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 220
1100
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1420
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 510
1370
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
490
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
17
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 22
11

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
2.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
2.7

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 11
14
Density, g/cm3 3.1
7.6
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.1
2.7
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
39
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
170

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
15
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 45
26
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
16
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 41
17
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 57
4.5
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 19
14

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 89.7 to 94.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.5
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
26 to 30
Copper (Cu), % 3.5 to 4.5
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.0
62.9 to 74
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.45 to 0.9
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 1.0
Nickel (Ni), % 1.7 to 2.3
0 to 4.0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.9
0 to 1.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0