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5052 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 4037 Steel

5052 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 4037 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, 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 5052 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 4037 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 46 to 83
160
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 1.1 to 22
23
Fatigue Strength, MPa 66 to 140
210
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 120 to 180
340
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 190 to 320
540
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 75 to 280
290

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 610
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 140
48
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 35
7.1
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
8.2

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
2.1
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.6
1.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
19
Embodied Water, L/kg 1190
47

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 1.7 to 69
100
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 41 to 590
220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 19 to 33
19
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 27 to 38
19
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 57
13
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 8.3 to 14
16

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.8 to 97.7
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.35 to 0.4
Chromium (Cr), % 0.15 to 0.35
0
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.4
98 to 98.6
Magnesium (Mg), % 2.2 to 2.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.1
0.7 to 0.9
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.2 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.25
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.1
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0