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2025 Aluminum vs. AISI 304Cu Stainless Steel

2025 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AISI 304Cu stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, 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 AISI 304Cu stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 110
160
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 72
190
Elongation at Break, % 15
45
Fatigue Strength, MPa 130
190
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
76
Shear Strength, MPa 240
370
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 400
530
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 260
210

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
930
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1410
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 520
1370
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
13
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
16

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
2.4
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
2.8

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
16
Density, g/cm3 3.0
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 7.9
3.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
43
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
150

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 55
190
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 450
110
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
3.5
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 18
12

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 90.9 to 95.2
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
17 to 19
Copper (Cu), % 3.9 to 5.0
3.0 to 4.0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.0
63.9 to 72
Magnesium (Mg), % 0 to 0.050
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 1.2
0 to 2.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
8.0 to 10
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.045
Silicon (Si), % 0.5 to 1.2
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0