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7178 Aluminum vs. ASTM A387 Grade 12 Steel

7178 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A387 grade 12 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 A387 grade 12 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
190
Elongation at Break, % 4.5 to 12
25
Fatigue Strength, MPa 120 to 210
190 to 230
Poisson's Ratio 0.32
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
73
Shear Strength, MPa 140 to 380
300 to 330
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 240 to 640
470 to 520
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 120 to 560
260 to 310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
430
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 630
1470
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 480
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 860
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 130
44
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 31
7.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 91
8.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 10
2.8
Density, g/cm3 3.1
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
1.6
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
21
Embodied Water, L/kg 1110
51

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 24 to 52
98 to 110
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 110 to 2220
180 to 250
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 45
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 21 to 58
16 to 18
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 28 to 54
17 to 18
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 47
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 10 to 28
14 to 15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 85.4 to 89.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.050 to 0.17
Chromium (Cr), % 0.18 to 0.28
0.8 to 1.2
Copper (Cu), % 1.6 to 2.4
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
97 to 98.2
Magnesium (Mg), % 2.4 to 3.1
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.3
0.4 to 0.65
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.45 to 0.6
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.025
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0.15 to 0.4
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.025
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zinc (Zn), % 6.3 to 7.3
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0

Comparable Variants