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2025 Aluminum vs. AISI 415 Stainless Steel

2025 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AISI 415 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 415 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 110
260
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 72
200
Elongation at Break, % 15
17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 130
430
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
76
Shear Strength, MPa 240
550
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 400
900
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 260
700

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
270
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
780
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 520
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
24
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
10

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
2.7
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
3.1

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
11
Density, g/cm3 3.0
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 7.9
2.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
35
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
110

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 55
140
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 450
1250
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 46
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 37
32
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40
26
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 58
6.4
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 18
33

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 90.9 to 95.2
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.050
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
11.5 to 14
Copper (Cu), % 3.9 to 5.0
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.0
77.8 to 84
Magnesium (Mg), % 0 to 0.050
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 1.2
0.5 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.5 to 1.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
3.5 to 5.5
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0.5 to 1.2
0 to 0.6
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