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2025 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI M42 Steel

2025 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI M42 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 21 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (11, 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 SAE-AISI M42 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 72
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
78
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 400
810 to 2310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
270
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1540
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 520
1490
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
450
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
20
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
30
Density, g/cm3 3.0
8.2
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 7.9
7.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
100
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
140

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 46
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 37
28 to 79
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40
24 to 48
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 58
5.4
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 18
25 to 71

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 90.9 to 95.2
0
Carbon (C), % 0
1.1 to 1.2
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
3.5 to 4.3
Cobalt (Co), % 0
7.8 to 8.8
Copper (Cu), % 3.9 to 5.0
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.0
76.3 to 81
Magnesium (Mg), % 0 to 0.050
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 1.2
0.15 to 0.4
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
9.0 to 10
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0.5 to 1.2
0.15 to 0.65
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Tungsten (W), % 0
1.2 to 1.9
Vanadium (V), % 0
1.0 to 1.4
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0