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3105 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 4161 Steel

3105 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 4161 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, 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 SAE-AISI 4161 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 29 to 67
200
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 20
20
Fatigue Strength, MPa 39 to 95
290
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 77 to 140
420
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 120 to 240
680
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 46 to 220
410

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
420
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 660
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 640
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 170
43
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 44
7.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
8.4

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
2.5
Density, g/cm3 2.8
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
1.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
20
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
50

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 2.6 to 19
120
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 15 to 340
460
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 12 to 24
24
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 20 to 31
22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 68
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 5.2 to 11
22

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 96 to 99.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.56 to 0.64
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.2
0.7 to 0.9
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.3
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
96.7 to 97.6
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.2 to 0.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.3 to 0.8
0.75 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.25 to 0.35
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.6
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.4
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0