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5056 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 1055 Steel

5056 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1055 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 1055 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 67
190
Elongation at Break, % 4.9 to 31
11 to 14
Fatigue Strength, MPa 140 to 200
260 to 390
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 25
72
Shear Strength, MPa 170 to 240
440 to 450
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 290 to 460
730 to 750
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 150 to 410
400 to 630

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 910
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
51
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 29
11
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 99
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
1.8
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 9.0
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
46

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 12 to 140
80 to 85
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 170 to 1220
440 to 1070
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 51
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 30 to 48
26
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 36 to 50
23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 53
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13 to 20
23 to 24

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 93 to 95.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.5 to 0.6
Chromium (Cr), % 0.050 to 0.2
0
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.4
98.4 to 98.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 4.5 to 5.6
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.050 to 0.2
0.6 to 0.9
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