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2018 Aluminum vs. Grade TDC Steel

2018 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while grade TDC steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 25 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (7, 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 grade TDC steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 120
510
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 73
190
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
80
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 420
1700

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 220
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 510
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
51
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 22
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
7.1
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
8.2

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 11
1.9
Density, g/cm3 3.1
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.1
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
19
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
47

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 45
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
60
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 41
40
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 57
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 19
50

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 89.7 to 94.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.6 to 0.75
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 0.3
Copper (Cu), % 3.5 to 4.5
0 to 0.1
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.0
98 to 99.4
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.45 to 0.9
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.2
0.5 to 1.2
Nickel (Ni), % 1.7 to 2.3
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.020
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.9
0.1 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.020
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0