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7178 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 1050 Steel

7178 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1050 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 SAE-AISI 1050 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
190
Elongation at Break, % 4.5 to 12
11 to 17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 120 to 210
260 to 400
Poisson's Ratio 0.32
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
72
Shear Strength, MPa 140 to 380
430 to 470
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 240 to 640
690 to 790
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 120 to 560
390 to 650

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
400
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
51
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 31
7.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 91
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 1110
46

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 24 to 52
81 to 100
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 110 to 2220
400 to 1130
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 45
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 21 to 58
25 to 28
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 28 to 54
22 to 24
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 47
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 10 to 28
22 to 25

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 85.4 to 89.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.48 to 0.55
Chromium (Cr), % 0.18 to 0.28
0
Copper (Cu), % 1.6 to 2.4
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
98.5 to 98.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 2.4 to 3.1
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.3
0.6 to 0.9
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zinc (Zn), % 6.3 to 7.3
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0