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2018 Aluminum vs. AISI 312 Stainless Steel

2018 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AISI 312 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 312 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 120
250
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 73
200
Elongation at Break, % 9.6
28
Fatigue Strength, MPa 120
370
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.27
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
80
Shear Strength, MPa 270
510
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 420
780
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 310
510

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
300
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 220
1100
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1430
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 510
1390
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
16
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 22
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
2.1
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
2.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 11
17
Density, g/cm3 3.1
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.1
3.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
48
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
170

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 37
190
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 670
640
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
15
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 45
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
28
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 41
24
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 57
4.3
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 19
21

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 89.7 to 94.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
24 to 26
Copper (Cu), % 3.5 to 4.5
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.0
62.2 to 69.2
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.45 to 0.9
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 2.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
1.2 to 2.0
Nickel (Ni), % 1.7 to 2.3
5.5 to 6.5
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.14 to 0.2
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.045
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.9
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0