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5042 Aluminum vs. S20161 Stainless Steel

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S20161 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 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 S20161 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
46
Fatigue Strength, MPa 97 to 120
360
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
76
Shear Strength, MPa 200
690
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
980
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 310
390

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
330
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
870
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1380
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1330
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
490
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
15
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
16

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 33
2.5
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 110
2.9

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
12
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.5
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
2.7
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
39
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
130

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.6 to 12
360
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 550 to 720
390
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
26
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
36
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
29
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 53
4.0
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
22

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.15
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
15 to 18
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
65.6 to 73.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
4.0 to 6.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
4.0 to 6.0
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.080 to 0.2
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
3.0 to 4.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0