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2018 Aluminum vs. AISI 316 Stainless Steel

2018 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AISI 316 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (5, 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 316 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 120
160 to 360
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 73
200
Elongation at Break, % 9.6
8.0 to 55
Fatigue Strength, MPa 120
210 to 430
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
78
Shear Strength, MPa 270
350 to 690
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 420
520 to 1180
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 310
230 to 850

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 220
590
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1400
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 510
1380
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
15
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 22
16

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
2.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
2.6

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 11
19
Density, g/cm3 3.1
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.1
3.9
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
53
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
150

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 37
85 to 260
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 670
130 to 1820
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 45
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
18 to 41
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 41
18 to 31
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 57
4.1
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 19
11 to 26

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 89.7 to 94.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.080
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
16 to 18
Copper (Cu), % 3.5 to 4.5
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.0
62 to 72
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.45 to 0.9
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 2.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
2.0 to 3.0
Nickel (Ni), % 1.7 to 2.3
10 to 14
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0 to 0.1
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.045
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.9
0 to 0.75
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0