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7178 Aluminum vs. AISI 321 Stainless Steel

7178 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AISI 321 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 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 7178 aluminum and the bottom bar is AISI 321 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
200
Elongation at Break, % 4.5 to 12
34 to 50
Fatigue Strength, MPa 120 to 210
220 to 270
Poisson's Ratio 0.32
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
77
Shear Strength, MPa 140 to 380
420 to 460
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 240 to 640
590 to 690
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 120 to 560
220 to 350

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
870
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 630
1430
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 480
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 860
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
16
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
17

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 31
2.4
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 91
2.7

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
16
Density, g/cm3 3.1
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
3.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
45
Embodied Water, L/kg 1110
140

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 24 to 52
190 to 230
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 110 to 2220
130 to 310
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 45
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 21 to 58
21 to 25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 28 to 54
20 to 22
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 47
4.1
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 10 to 28
13 to 15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 85.4 to 89.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.080
Chromium (Cr), % 0.18 to 0.28
17 to 19
Copper (Cu), % 1.6 to 2.4
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
65.3 to 74
Magnesium (Mg), % 2.4 to 3.1
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.3
0 to 2.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
9.0 to 12
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0 to 0.1
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.045
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0 to 0.75
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 0.7
Zinc (Zn), % 6.3 to 7.3
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0