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2124 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI A7 Steel

2124 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI A7 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 21 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (10, 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 2124 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI A7 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
190
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
72
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 490
800 to 2150

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
260
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1470
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 500
1430
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 880
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
37
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
10
Density, g/cm3 3.0
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
13
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
200
Embodied Water, L/kg 1150
100

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 46
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 45
29 to 77
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 46
25 to 48
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 58
10
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 21
27 to 72

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 91.3 to 94.7
0
Carbon (C), % 0
2.0 to 2.9
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
5.0 to 5.8
Copper (Cu), % 3.8 to 4.9
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.3
81.4 to 87.7
Magnesium (Mg), % 1.2 to 1.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.3 to 0.9
0 to 0.8
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.9 to 1.4
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 0.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Tungsten (W), % 0
0.5 to 1.5
Vanadium (V), % 0
3.9 to 5.2
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0