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5051A Aluminum vs. S30815 Stainless Steel

5051A aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S30815 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 5051A aluminum and the bottom bar is S30815 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Elongation at Break, % 18 to 21
45
Fatigue Strength, MPa 51 to 61
320
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
77
Shear Strength, MPa 110
480
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 170
680
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 56
350

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
310
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
1020
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1400
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 610
1360
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
490
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
15
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
17

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 39
2.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 130
2.4

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
17
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.5
3.3
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
47
Embodied Water, L/kg 1190
160

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 24 to 27
260
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 23
310
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17 to 18
25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 25
22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 63
4.0
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 7.6
15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 96.1 to 98.6
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.050 to 0.1
Cerium (Ce), % 0
0.030 to 0.080
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.3
20 to 22
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.050
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.45
62.8 to 68.4
Magnesium (Mg), % 1.4 to 2.1
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.25
0 to 0.8
Nickel (Ni), % 0
10 to 12
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.14 to 0.2
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.3
1.4 to 2.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0