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5021 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 1021 Steel

5021 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1021 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 5021 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1021 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
17 to 27
Fatigue Strength, MPa 85 to 110
190 to 300
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 170
310 to 320
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 300 to 310
480 to 530
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 240 to 270
260 to 450

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 590
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 140
52
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 35
7.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
8.0

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
1.8
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.6
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
46

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.1 to 10
84 to 110
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 440 to 550
180 to 530
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 30 to 32
17 to 19
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 37
17 to 18
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 57
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13 to 14
15 to 17

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.2 to 97.7
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.18 to 0.23
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.15
0
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
98.8 to 99.22
Magnesium (Mg), % 2.2 to 2.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.1 to 0.5
0.6 to 0.9
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.15
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0