5040 Aluminum vs. EN 1.1170 Steel
5040 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while EN 1.1170 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, 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 EN 1.1170 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness | 66 to 74 | |
180 to 210 |
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 70 | |
190 |
Elongation at Break, % | 5.7 to 6.8 | |
16 to 17 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 100 to 130 | |
220 to 330 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
0.29 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 26 | |
73 |
Shear Strength, MPa | 140 to 150 | |
390 to 450 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 240 to 260 | |
640 to 730 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 190 to 230 | |
330 to 500 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 400 | |
250 |
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 190 | |
400 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 650 | |
1460 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 600 | |
1420 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
470 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 160 | |
50 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 23 | |
12 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 41 | |
7.3 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 130 | |
8.4 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 9.5 | |
2.1 |
Density, g/cm3 | 2.8 | |
7.8 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.3 | |
1.5 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
19 |
Embodied Water, L/kg | 1180 | |
49 |
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 14 to 15 | |
91 to 100 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 260 to 380 | |
290 to 670 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
13 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
24 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 24 to 26 | |
23 to 26 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 31 to 32 | |
21 to 23 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 64 | |
13 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 10 to 11 | |
20 to 23 |
Alloy Composition
Aluminum (Al), % | 95.2 to 98 | |
0 |
Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
0.25 to 0.32 |
Chromium (Cr), % | 0.1 to 0.3 | |
0 to 0.4 |
Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
0 |
Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.7 | |
96.7 to 98.5 |
Magnesium (Mg), % | 1.0 to 1.5 | |
0 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0.9 to 1.4 | |
1.3 to 1.7 |
Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.1 |
Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.4 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.035 |
Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
0 to 0.4 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.035 |
Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
0 |
Residuals, % | 0 to 0.15 | |
0 |