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2025 Aluminum vs. ACI-ASTM CF8 Steel

2025 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ACI-ASTM CF8 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 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 2025 aluminum and the bottom bar is ACI-ASTM CF8 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 110
140
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 72
200
Elongation at Break, % 15
55
Fatigue Strength, MPa 130
260
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
77
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 400
540
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 260
260

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
300
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
980
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1420
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 520
1430
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
16
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
15

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
2.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
2.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
16
Density, g/cm3 3.0
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 7.9
3.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
44
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
150

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 55
240
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 450
160
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 46
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 37
19
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40
19
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 58
4.3
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 18
13

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 90.9 to 95.2
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.080
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
18 to 21
Copper (Cu), % 3.9 to 5.0
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.0
63.8 to 74
Magnesium (Mg), % 0 to 0.050
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 1.2
0 to 1.5
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
8.0 to 11
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0.5 to 1.2
0 to 2.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0