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7049A Aluminum vs. ASTM A321 Carbon Steel

7049A aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A321 carbon steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, 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 7049A aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A321 carbon steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
190
Elongation at Break, % 5.0 to 5.7
21
Fatigue Strength, MPa 180
270
Poisson's Ratio 0.32
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
73
Shear Strength, MPa 340 to 350
420
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 580 to 590
670
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 500 to 530
390

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 200
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 430
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 850
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
51
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
7.1
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 120
8.1

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
1.8
Density, g/cm3 3.1
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 1100
46

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 28 to 32
120
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 1800 to 1990
400
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 44
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 52 to 53
24
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 50 to 51
22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 50
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 25
21

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 84.6 to 89.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.55
Chromium (Cr), % 0.050 to 0.25
0
Copper (Cu), % 1.2 to 1.9
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
98.1 to 99.25
Magnesium (Mg), % 2.1 to 3.1
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.5
0.6 to 0.9
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.25
0
Zinc (Zn), % 7.2 to 8.4
0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0