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5042 Aluminum vs. EN 1.4581 Stainless Steel

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while EN 1.4581 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (5, 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 1.4581 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
28
Fatigue Strength, MPa 97 to 120
150
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
78
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
510
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 310
210

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
300
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
990
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1440
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
15
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
16

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 33
2.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 110
2.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
21
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
4.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
59
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
160

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.6 to 12
120
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 550 to 720
110
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
18
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
18
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 53
3.9
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
12

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.070
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
18 to 20
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
61.4 to 71
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
0 to 1.5
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
2.0 to 2.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
9.0 to 12
Niobium (Nb), % 0
0 to 1.0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 1.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0