5042 Aluminum vs. ASTM A148 Cast Steel
5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A148 cast steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 29 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 5042 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A148 cast steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 68 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 1.1 to 3.4 | |
| 5.7 to 25 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 97 to 120 | |
| 280 to 670 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 26 | |
| 73 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 340 to 360 | |
| 630 to 1300 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 270 to 310 | |
| 390 to 1160 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 400 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 180 | |
| 400 to 430 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 570 | |
| 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 130 | |
| 37 to 47 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 24 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 33 | |
| 7.3 to 7.5 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 110 | |
| 8.3 to 8.6 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 9.5 | |
| 2.3 to 3.3 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.8 | |
| 1.5 to 1.7 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
| 20 to 22 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 1180 | |
| 48 to 53 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 3.6 to 12 | |
| 71 to 150 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 550 to 720 | |
| 400 to 3570 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 35 to 37 | |
| 22 to 46 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 40 to 42 | |
| 21 to 34 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 53 | |
| 9.9 to 13 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 15 to 16 | |
| 18 to 38 |