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5056 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 1017 Steel

5056 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1017 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 5056 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1017 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 67
190
Elongation at Break, % 4.9 to 31
20 to 30
Fatigue Strength, MPa 140 to 200
170 to 270
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 25
73
Shear Strength, MPa 170 to 240
280 to 290
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 290 to 460
420 to 460
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 150 to 410
220 to 390

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1470
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 910
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
53
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 29
6.9
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 99
7.9

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
1.8
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 9.0
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
45

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 12 to 140
88 to 110
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 170 to 1220
130 to 400
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 51
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 30 to 48
15 to 16
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 36 to 50
16 to 17
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 53
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13 to 20
13 to 14

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 93 to 95.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.15 to 0.2
Chromium (Cr), % 0.050 to 0.2
0
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.4
99.11 to 99.55
Magnesium (Mg), % 4.5 to 5.6
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.050 to 0.2
0.3 to 0.6
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.3
0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.1
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0