5083 Aluminum vs. S46800 Stainless Steel
5083 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S46800 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 32 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 5083 aluminum and the bottom bar is S46800 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness | 75 to 110 | |
180 |
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 68 | |
200 |
Elongation at Break, % | 1.1 to 17 | |
25 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 93 to 190 | |
160 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
0.28 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 26 | |
77 |
Shear Strength, MPa | 170 to 220 | |
300 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 290 to 390 | |
470 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 110 to 340 | |
230 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 400 | |
290 |
Maximum Temperature: Corrosion, °C | 65 | |
500 |
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 190 | |
920 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
1440 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 580 | |
1400 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
480 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 120 | |
23 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 24 | |
11 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 29 | |
2.8 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 96 | |
3.3 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 9.5 | |
12 |
Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
7.7 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.9 | |
2.6 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
37 |
Embodied Water, L/kg | 1170 | |
130 |
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 4.2 to 42 | |
98 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 95 to 860 | |
130 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
14 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
25 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 29 to 40 | |
17 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 36 to 44 | |
18 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 48 | |
6.1 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 12 to 17 | |
16 |
Alloy Composition
Aluminum (Al), % | 92.4 to 95.6 | |
0 |
Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.030 |
Chromium (Cr), % | 0.050 to 0.25 | |
18 to 20 |
Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
0 |
Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.4 | |
76.5 to 81.8 |
Magnesium (Mg), % | 4.0 to 4.9 | |
0 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0.4 to 1.0 | |
0 to 1.0 |
Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.5 |
Niobium (Nb), % | 0 | |
0.1 to 0.6 |
Nitrogen (N), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.030 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.040 |
Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.4 | |
0 to 1.0 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.030 |
Titanium (Ti), % | 0 to 0.15 | |
0.070 to 0.3 |
Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
0 |
Residuals, % | 0 to 0.15 | |
0 |