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3004 Aluminum vs. ACI-ASTM CA15 Steel

3004 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ACI-ASTM CA15 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (5, 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 3004 aluminum and the bottom bar is ACI-ASTM CA15 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 45 to 83
220
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 19
21
Fatigue Strength, MPa 55 to 120
370
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
76
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 170 to 310
700
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 68 to 270
570

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
280
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
750
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1440
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 630
1500
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 160
25
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
10

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 42
3.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
3.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
7.5
Density, g/cm3 2.8
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
2.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
28
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
100

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.2 to 27
140
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 33 to 540
820
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 18 to 31
25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 25 to 37
23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 65
6.7
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 7.6 to 13
26

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.6 to 98.2
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.15
Chromium (Cr), % 0
11.5 to 14
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
81.8 to 88.5
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.8 to 1.3
0
Manganese (Mn), % 1.0 to 1.5
0 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 1.0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.3
0 to 1.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0