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5042 Aluminum vs. S38815 Stainless Steel

5042 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S38815 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 26 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (7, 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 S38815 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 3.4
34
Fatigue Strength, MPa 97 to 120
230
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
74
Shear Strength, MPa 200
410
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 340 to 360
610
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 310
290

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
370
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
860
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1360
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1310
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
500
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
15

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
19
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.5
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.8
3.8
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
54
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
140

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.6 to 12
170
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 550 to 720
220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 37
22
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 40 to 42
21
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15 to 16
15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.2 to 96.8
0 to 0.3
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
13 to 15
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.15
0.75 to 1.5
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
56.1 to 67
Magnesium (Mg), % 3.0 to 4.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
0 to 2.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.75 to 1.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
13 to 17
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.2
5.5 to 6.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.020
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0