5042 Aluminum vs. EN 1.6579 Steel
5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while EN 1.6579 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 1.6579 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 68 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 1.1 to 3.4 | |
| 11 to 14 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 97 to 120 | |
| 380 to 570 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 26 | |
| 73 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 340 to 360 | |
| 850 to 980 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 270 to 310 | |
| 600 to 910 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 400 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 180 | |
| 440 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 570 | |
| 1410 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 130 | |
| 39 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 24 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 33 | |
| 7.7 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 110 | |
| 8.8 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 9.5 | |
| 3.7 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.8 | |
| 1.7 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
| 22 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 1180 | |
| 56 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 3.6 to 12 | |
| 100 to 120 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 550 to 720 | |
| 950 to 2210 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 35 to 37 | |
| 30 to 35 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 40 to 42 | |
| 25 to 28 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 53 | |
| 11 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 15 to 16 | |
| 25 to 29 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 94.2 to 96.8 | |
| 0 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
| 0.32 to 0.38 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 1.4 to 1.7 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.15 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.35 | |
| 94.2 to 96.1 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 3.0 to 4.0 | |
| 0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.2 to 0.5 | |
| 0.6 to 1.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 0.15 to 0.35 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 1.4 to 1.7 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.025 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
| 0 to 0.6 |
| 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 |