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5042 Aluminum vs. EN 1.3555 Steel

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while EN 1.3555 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 22 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (10, 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 EN 1.3555 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
75
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
770

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
260
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
540
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1500
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1450
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
460
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 33
9.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 110
11

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
11
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
5.6
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
81
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
90

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
27
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
23
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
22

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.1 to 0.15
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
3.9 to 4.3
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0 to 0.1
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
85.4 to 87.7
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
0.15 to 0.35
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
4.0 to 4.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
3.2 to 3.6
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.015
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
0.1 to 0.25
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.010
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Tungsten (W), % 0
0 to 0.15
Vanadium (V), % 0
1.0 to 1.3
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0