MakeItFrom.com
Menu (ESC)

7075-T6 Aluminum vs. ASTM A36 Carbon Steel

7075-T6 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A36 carbon steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, 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 7075-T6 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A36 carbon steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 150
140
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70
190
Elongation at Break, % 7.9
22
Fatigue Strength, MPa 160
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.32
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 330
300
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 560
480
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 480
290

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 380
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 200
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 480
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
50
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
11

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 33
12
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 98
14

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
1.8
Density, g/cm3 3.0
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 1120
44

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 42
92
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 1630
220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 46
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 51
17
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 50
17
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 50
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 24
16

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 86.9 to 91.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.26
Chromium (Cr), % 0.18 to 0.28
0
Copper (Cu), % 1.2 to 2.0
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
99.25 to 100
Magnesium (Mg), % 2.1 to 2.9
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.3
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0 to 0.4
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zinc (Zn), % 5.1 to 6.1
0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0