2018 Aluminum vs. ASTM A372 Grade E Steel
2018 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A372 grade E steel belongs to the iron alloys. 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 ASTM A372 grade E steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 120 | |
| 200 to 280 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 9.6 | |
| 20 to 22 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 120 | |
| 310 to 380 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 27 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 270 | |
| 410 to 570 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 420 | |
| 650 to 910 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 310 | |
| 430 to 550 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 390 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 220 | |
| 420 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 510 | |
| 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 870 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 150 | |
| 44 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 22 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 40 | |
| 7.2 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 120 | |
| 8.3 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 11 | |
| 2.4 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 3.1 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.1 | |
| 1.5 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
| 20 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 1130 | |
| 51 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 37 | |
| 130 to 160 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 670 | |
| 500 to 810 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 45 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 38 | |
| 23 to 32 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 41 | |
| 21 to 27 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 57 | |
| 12 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 19 | |
| 19 to 27 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 89.7 to 94.4 | |
| 0 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
| 0.25 to 0.35 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0.8 to 1.2 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 3.5 to 4.5 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 1.0 | |
| 97 to 98.3 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 0.45 to 0.9 | |
| 0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
| 0.4 to 0.9 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 0.15 to 0.25 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 1.7 to 2.3 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.015 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.9 | |
| 0.15 to 0.35 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 to 0.15 | |
| 0 |