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4045 Aluminum vs. ASTM A372 Grade C Steel

4045 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A372 grade C steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 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 4045 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A372 grade C steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
190
Elongation at Break, % 2.3
17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 45
290
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
73
Shear Strength, MPa 69
440
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 120
710
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 64
430

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 540
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 160
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 600
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 580
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 170
51
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 21
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 45
7.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 160
8.2

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
1.8
Density, g/cm3 2.6
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 7.8
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
19
Embodied Water, L/kg 1070
46

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 2.4
100
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 29
500
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 54
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 13
25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 21
23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 74
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 5.7
22

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 87.4 to 91
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.48
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.3
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.8
97.5 to 99.85
Magnesium (Mg), % 0 to 0.050
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.050
0 to 1.7
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.015
Silicon (Si), % 9.0 to 11
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.010
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.1
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0