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A356.0 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI S5 Steel

A356.0 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI S5 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 23 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (8, 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 A356.0 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI S5 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70
190
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
72
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 160 to 270
680 to 1940

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 500
280
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 610
1440
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
42
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 21
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
7.4
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
8.7

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
3.1
Density, g/cm3 2.6
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.0
2.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
29
Embodied Water, L/kg 1110
51

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 53
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17 to 29
25 to 70
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 25 to 36
22 to 45
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 64
11
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 7.6 to 13
23 to 65

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 91.1 to 93.3
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.5 to 0.65
Chromium (Cr), % 0
0 to 0.5
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.2
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.2
93.6 to 97
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.25 to 0.45
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.1
0.6 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.2 to 1.4
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 6.5 to 7.5
1.8 to 2.3
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Vanadium (V), % 0
0 to 0.35
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.1
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0