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4104 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 8620 Steel

4104 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 8620 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 4104 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 8620 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
190
Elongation at Break, % 2.4
13 to 31
Fatigue Strength, MPa 42
270 to 360
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
73
Shear Strength, MPa 63
340 to 420
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 110
520 to 690
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 60
360 to 570

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 540
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 160
410
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 600
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 560
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
39
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 22
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 33
7.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
8.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
2.6
Density, g/cm3 2.6
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.0
1.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
20
Embodied Water, L/kg 1080
50

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 2.3
86 to 150
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 25
340 to 880
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 54
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 12
18 to 24
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 20
18 to 22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 58
10
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 5.1
15 to 20

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 85.8 to 90
0
Bismuth (Bi), % 0.020 to 0.2
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.18 to 0.23
Chromium (Cr), % 0
0.4 to 0.6
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.8
96.9 to 98
Magnesium (Mg), % 1.0 to 2.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.1
0.7 to 0.9
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.15 to 0.25
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0.4 to 0.7
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 9.0 to 10.5
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0