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3004 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI H21 Steel

3004 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI H21 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 21 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (12, 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 SAE-AISI H21 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
76
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 170 to 310
720 to 1790

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1630
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 630
1580
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
440
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 160
27
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
11

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
23
Density, g/cm3 2.8
8.5
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
4.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
68
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
72

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
23
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 18 to 31
23 to 58
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 25 to 37
21 to 38
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 65
7.1
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 7.6 to 13
24 to 59

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.6 to 98.2
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.28 to 0.36
Chromium (Cr), % 0
3.0 to 3.8
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
87.6 to 93.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.8 to 1.3
0
Manganese (Mn), % 1.0 to 1.5
0.15 to 0.4
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.3
0.15 to 0.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Tungsten (W), % 0
8.5 to 10
Vanadium (V), % 0
0.3 to 0.6
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0

Comparable Variants