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5456 Aluminum vs. AISI 309 Stainless Steel

5456 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AISI 309 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 5456 aluminum and the bottom bar is AISI 309 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Elongation at Break, % 11 to 18
34 to 47
Fatigue Strength, MPa 130 to 210
250 to 280
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.27
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
78
Shear Strength, MPa 190 to 210
420 to 470
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 320 to 340
600 to 710
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 150 to 250
260 to 350

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 390
290
Maximum Temperature: Corrosion, °C 65
440
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 190
980
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 120
16
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
15

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 29
2.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 97
2.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
19
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 9.0
3.6
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
51
Embodied Water, L/kg 1170
170

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 33 to 46
200 to 230
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 170 to 470
170 to 310
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 33 to 35
21 to 25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 38 to 40
20 to 23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 48
4.3
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14 to 15
14 to 16

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 92 to 94.8
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.2
Chromium (Cr), % 0.050 to 0.2
22 to 24
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.4
58 to 66
Magnesium (Mg), % 4.7 to 5.5
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.5 to 1.0
0 to 2.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
12 to 15
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.045
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.25
0 to 0.75
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0