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3103 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI A8 Steel

3103 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI A8 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 23 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (9, 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 3103 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI A8 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70
190
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
74
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 100 to 220
700 to 1920

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
270
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 660
1480
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 640
1430
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 160
37
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 42
8.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
9.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
8.5
Density, g/cm3 2.8
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
2.3
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
31
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
73

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 10 to 22
25 to 68
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 18 to 30
22 to 44
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 64
9.9
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 4.6 to 9.9
22 to 62

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 96.3 to 99.1
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.5 to 0.6
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
4.8 to 5.5
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
88.5 to 91.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 0 to 0.3
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.9 to 1.5
0 to 0.5
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
1.2 to 1.7
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
0.75 to 1.1
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Tungsten (W), % 0
1.0 to 1.5
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0 to 0.1
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0

Comparable Variants