242.0 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI F2 Steel
242.0 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI F2 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 23 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 242.0 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI F2 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
190 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
0.29 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 27 | |
73 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 180 to 290 | |
710 to 2360 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 390 | |
250 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
1520 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 530 | |
1470 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 870 | |
460 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 130 to 170 | |
42 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 22 | |
13 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 33 to 44 | |
7.7 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 96 to 130 | |
8.5 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 12 | |
10 |
Density, g/cm3 | 3.1 | |
8.1 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.3 | |
2.3 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
32 |
Embodied Water, L/kg | 1130 | |
50 |
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
13 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 45 | |
24 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 16 to 26 | |
24 to 81 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 23 to 32 | |
22 to 49 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 50 to 62 | |
11 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 8.0 to 13 | |
21 to 71 |
Alloy Composition
Aluminum (Al), % | 88.4 to 93.6 | |
0 |
Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
1.2 to 1.4 |
Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
0.2 to 0.4 |
Copper (Cu), % | 3.5 to 4.5 | |
0 |
Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 1.0 | |
92.6 to 95.4 |
Magnesium (Mg), % | 1.2 to 1.8 | |
0 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 0.35 | |
0.1 to 0.5 |
Nickel (Ni), % | 1.7 to 2.3 | |
0 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.030 |
Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.7 | |
0.1 to 0.5 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.030 |
Titanium (Ti), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
0 |
Tungsten (W), % | 0 | |
3.0 to 4.5 |
Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.35 | |
0 |
Residuals, % | 0 to 0.15 | |
0 |