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7178 Aluminum vs. ASTM A372 Grade M Steel

7178 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A372 grade M 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 7178 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A372 grade M steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
190
Elongation at Break, % 4.5 to 12
18 to 21
Fatigue Strength, MPa 120 to 210
450 to 520
Poisson's Ratio 0.32
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
73
Shear Strength, MPa 140 to 380
510 to 570
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 240 to 640
810 to 910
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 120 to 560
660 to 770

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
450
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 630
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 480
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 860
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
46
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 31
8.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 91
9.1

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
5.0
Density, g/cm3 3.1
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
2.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
27
Embodied Water, L/kg 1110
61

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 24 to 52
160
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 110 to 2220
1140 to 1580
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 45
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 21 to 58
29 to 32
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 28 to 54
24 to 27
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 47
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 10 to 28
24 to 27

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 85.4 to 89.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.23
Chromium (Cr), % 0.18 to 0.28
1.5 to 2.0
Copper (Cu), % 1.6 to 2.4
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
92.5 to 95.1
Magnesium (Mg), % 2.4 to 3.1
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.3
0.2 to 0.4
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.4 to 0.6
Nickel (Ni), % 0
2.8 to 3.9
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.015
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0 to 0.3
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.010
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Vanadium (V), % 0
0 to 0.080
Zinc (Zn), % 6.3 to 7.3
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0

Comparable Variants