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2117 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI M46 Steel

2117 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI M46 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 2117 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI M46 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
77
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 300
800 to 2300

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
270
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1540
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 550
1500
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 880
450
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
18
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
33
Density, g/cm3 3.0
8.1
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
12
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
180
Embodied Water, L/kg 1150
150

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 47
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 28
27 to 78
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 33
24 to 48
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 59
4.9
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 12
25 to 71

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 91 to 97.6
0
Carbon (C), % 0
1.2 to 1.3
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
3.7 to 4.2
Cobalt (Co), % 0
7.8 to 8.8
Copper (Cu), % 2.2 to 4.5
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
70 to 73.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.2 to 1.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 1.0
0.2 to 0.4
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
8.0 to 8.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0.2 to 0.8
0.4 to 0.65
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.25
0
Tungsten (W), % 0
1.9 to 2.2
Vanadium (V), % 0
3.0 to 3.3
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0