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5252 Aluminum vs. S20431 Stainless Steel

5252 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S20431 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 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 5252 aluminum and the bottom bar is S20431 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 68 to 75
210
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Elongation at Break, % 4.5 to 11
46
Fatigue Strength, MPa 100 to 110
320
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 25
76
Shear Strength, MPa 140 to 160
500
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 230 to 290
710
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 170 to 240
350

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
280
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
890
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1400
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 610
1360
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 910
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 140
15
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
17

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 34
2.4
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
2.8

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
12
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.7
2.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
36
Embodied Water, L/kg 1190
140

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 12 to 23
270
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 210 to 430
310
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 51
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 23 to 30
25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 31 to 36
23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 57
4.0
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 10 to 13
15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 96.6 to 97.8
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.12
Chromium (Cr), % 0
17 to 18
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
1.5 to 3.5
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.1
66.1 to 74.4
Magnesium (Mg), % 2.2 to 2.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.1
5.0 to 7.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
2.0 to 4.0
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.1 to 0.25
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.045
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.080
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Vanadium (V), % 0 to 0.050
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.050
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.1
0