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2018 Aluminum vs. AISI 303 Stainless Steel

2018 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AISI 303 stainless steel belongs to the iron 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 2018 aluminum and the bottom bar is AISI 303 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 120
170 to 210
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 73
200
Elongation at Break, % 9.6
40 to 51
Fatigue Strength, MPa 120
230 to 360
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
77
Shear Strength, MPa 270
430 to 470
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 420
600 to 690
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 310
230 to 420

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 220
930
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 510
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
16
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 22
17

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
2.4
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
2.8

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 11
15
Density, g/cm3 3.1
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.1
3.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
42
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
140

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 37
240
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 670
140 to 440
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 45
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
21 to 25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 41
20 to 22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 57
4.4
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 19
13 to 15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 89.7 to 94.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.15
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
17 to 19
Copper (Cu), % 3.5 to 4.5
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.0
67.3 to 74.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.45 to 0.9
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 2.0
Nickel (Ni), % 1.7 to 2.3
8.0 to 10
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.2
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.9
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0.15 to 0.35
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0