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3105 Aluminum vs. ASTM A387 Grade 12 Steel

3105 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A387 grade 12 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 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 3105 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A387 grade 12 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 29 to 67
140 to 160
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 20
25
Fatigue Strength, MPa 39 to 95
190 to 230
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 77 to 140
300 to 330
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 120 to 240
470 to 520
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 46 to 220
260 to 310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
430
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 660
1470
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 640
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 170
44
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 44
7.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
8.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
2.8
Density, g/cm3 2.8
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
1.6
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
21
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
51

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 2.6 to 19
98 to 110
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 15 to 340
180 to 250
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 12 to 24
16 to 18
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 20 to 31
17 to 18
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 68
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 5.2 to 11
14 to 15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 96 to 99.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.050 to 0.17
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.2
0.8 to 1.2
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.3
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
97 to 98.2
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.2 to 0.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.3 to 0.8
0.4 to 0.65
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.45 to 0.6
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.025
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.6
0.15 to 0.4
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.025
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.4
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0

Comparable Variants