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2025 Aluminum vs. EN 1.4421 Stainless Steel

2025 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while EN 1.4421 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (5, 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 EN 1.4421 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 72
200
Elongation at Break, % 15
11 to 17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 130
380 to 520
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
77
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 400
880 to 1100
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 260
620 to 950

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
280
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
870
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1440
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 520
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
16
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
10

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
2.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
2.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
12
Density, g/cm3 3.0
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 7.9
2.6
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
36
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
130

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 55
120 to 140
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 450
960 to 2270
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 46
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 37
31 to 39
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40
26 to 30
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 58
4.4
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 18
31 to 39

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 90.9 to 95.2
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.060
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
15.5 to 17.5
Copper (Cu), % 3.9 to 5.0
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.0
74.4 to 80.5
Magnesium (Mg), % 0 to 0.050
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 1.2
0 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0 to 0.7
Nickel (Ni), % 0
4.0 to 5.5
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0.5 to 1.2
0 to 0.8
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.020
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0