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5040 Aluminum vs. ASTM Grade HI Steel

5040 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM grade HI steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 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 5040 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM grade HI steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 66 to 74
160
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70
200
Elongation at Break, % 5.7 to 6.8
11
Fatigue Strength, MPa 100 to 130
150
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.27
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
79
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 240 to 260
550
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 190 to 230
270

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
310
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
1100
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1400
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 600
1350
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
490
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 160
15
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
17

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 41
2.1
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 130
2.4

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
23
Density, g/cm3 2.8
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
4.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
59
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
200

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 14 to 15
52
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 260 to 380
180
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 24 to 26
20
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 31 to 32
19
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 64
3.9
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 10 to 11
12

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.2 to 98
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.2 to 0.5
Chromium (Cr), % 0.1 to 0.3
26 to 30
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
46.9 to 59.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 1.0 to 1.5
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.9 to 1.4
0 to 2.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
14 to 18
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.3
0 to 2.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0