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356.0 Aluminum vs. ASTM A387 Grade 12 Steel

356.0 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 (3, 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 356.0 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A387 grade 12 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 55 to 75
140 to 160
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70
190
Elongation at Break, % 2.0 to 3.8
25
Fatigue Strength, MPa 55 to 75
190 to 230
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
73
Shear Strength, MPa 140 to 190
300 to 330
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 160 to 240
470 to 520
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 100 to 190
260 to 310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 500
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
430
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1470
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150 to 170
44
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 21
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40 to 43
7.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140 to 150
8.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
2.8
Density, g/cm3 2.6
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.0
1.6
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
21
Embodied Water, L/kg 1110
51

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.2 to 8.2
98 to 110
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 70 to 250
180 to 250
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 53
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17 to 26
16 to 18
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 25 to 33
17 to 18
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 64 to 71
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 7.6 to 11
14 to 15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 90.1 to 93.3
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.050 to 0.17
Chromium (Cr), % 0
0.8 to 1.2
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.6
97 to 98.2
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.2 to 0.45
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.35
0.4 to 0.65
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.45 to 0.6
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.025
Silicon (Si), % 6.5 to 7.5
0.15 to 0.4
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.025
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.25
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.35
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0