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5042 Aluminum vs. C15500 Copper

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while C15500 copper belongs to the copper alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, 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 C15500 copper.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
120
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
3.0 to 37
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.34
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
43
Shear Strength, MPa 200
190 to 320
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
280 to 550
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 310
130 to 530

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
210
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
200
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1080
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1080
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
390
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
350
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
17

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 33
90
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 110
91

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
33
Density, g/cm3 2.7
8.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
2.7
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
42
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
360

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.6 to 12
15 to 84
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 550 to 720
72 to 1210
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
7.2
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
18
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
8.6 to 17
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
11 to 17
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 53
100
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
9.8 to 20

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
0
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
99.75 to 99.853
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0.080 to 0.13
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0.040 to 0.080
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
0
Silver (Ag), % 0
0.027 to 0.1
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.2