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5042 Aluminum vs. S31730 Stainless Steel

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S31730 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 26 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (8, 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 S31730 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
40
Fatigue Strength, MPa 97 to 120
170
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
77
Shear Strength, MPa 200
370
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
540
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 310
200

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
990
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1430
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1390
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
16

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
24
Density, g/cm3 2.7
8.0
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
4.6
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
63
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
180

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.6 to 12
170
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 550 to 720
99
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
19
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
18
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
12

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
17 to 19
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
4.0 to 5.0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
52.4 to 61
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
0 to 2.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
3.0 to 4.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
15 to 16.5
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0 to 0.045
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.010
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0