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4104 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI L3 Steel

4104 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI L3 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 23 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (8, 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 L3 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
190
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
72
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 110
600 to 2250

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 540
250
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 600
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 560
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
43
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 22
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 33
7.4
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
8.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
2.5
Density, g/cm3 2.6
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.0
1.9
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
27
Embodied Water, L/kg 1080
53

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 54
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 12
21 to 80
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 20
20 to 49
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 58
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 5.1
18 to 67

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 85.8 to 90
0
Bismuth (Bi), % 0.020 to 0.2
0
Carbon (C), % 0
1.0 to 1.1
Chromium (Cr), % 0
1.3 to 1.7
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.8
95.5 to 97.3
Magnesium (Mg), % 1.0 to 2.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.1
0.25 to 0.8
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 9.0 to 10.5
0.1 to 0.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Vanadium (V), % 0
0.1 to 0.3
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0