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5042 Aluminum vs. AISI 334 Stainless Steel

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AISI 334 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 26 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 5042 aluminum and the bottom bar is AISI 334 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
34
Fatigue Strength, MPa 97 to 120
150
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
77
Shear Strength, MPa 200
360
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
540
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 310
190

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
1000
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1410
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1370
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
16

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
22
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
4.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
59
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
170

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.6 to 12
140
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 550 to 720
96
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
19
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
19
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
12

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0.15 to 0.6
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.080
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
18 to 20
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
55.7 to 62.7
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
0 to 1.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
19 to 21
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.015
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0.15 to 0.6
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0