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2218 Aluminum vs. ASTM A231 Spring Steel

2218 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A231 spring steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, 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 2218 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A231 spring steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 95 to 110
540
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 73
190
Elongation at Break, % 6.8 to 10
14
Fatigue Strength, MPa 110
1000
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
73
Shear Strength, MPa 210 to 250
1080
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 330 to 430
1790
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 260 to 310
1570

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 220
420
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 510
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 140
52
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 22
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 37
7.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 110
8.4

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 11
2.3
Density, g/cm3 3.1
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
2.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
28
Embodied Water, L/kg 1130
51

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 27 to 31
230
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 45
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 30 to 39
64
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 34 to 41
42
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 52
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 19
53

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 88.8 to 93.6
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.48 to 0.53
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
0.8 to 1.1
Copper (Cu), % 3.5 to 4.5
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 1.0
96.7 to 97.7
Magnesium (Mg), % 1.2 to 1.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.2
0.7 to 0.9
Nickel (Ni), % 1.7 to 2.3
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.9
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Vanadium (V), % 0
0.15 to 0.3
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0