ASTM A372 Grade M Steel vs. 5251 Aluminum
ASTM A372 grade M steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 5251 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, 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 ASTM A372 grade M steel and the bottom bar is 5251 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness | 240 to 280 | |
44 to 79 |
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
68 |
Elongation at Break, % | 18 to 21 | |
2.0 to 19 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 450 to 520 | |
59 to 110 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
0.33 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
26 |
Shear Strength, MPa | 510 to 570 | |
110 to 160 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 810 to 910 | |
180 to 280 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 660 to 770 | |
67 to 250 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
400 |
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 450 | |
180 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
650 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
610 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
900 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 46 | |
150 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
24 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 8.0 | |
37 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 9.1 | |
120 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 5.0 | |
9.5 |
Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
2.7 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 2.0 | |
8.5 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 27 | |
150 |
Embodied Water, L/kg | 61 | |
1180 |
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 160 | |
5.4 to 27 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 1140 to 1580 | |
33 to 450 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
14 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
50 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 29 to 32 | |
18 to 29 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 24 to 27 | |
26 to 35 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 12 | |
61 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 24 to 27 | |
7.9 to 13 |
Alloy Composition
Aluminum (Al), % | 0 | |
95.5 to 98.2 |
Carbon (C), % | 0 to 0.23 | |
0 |
Chromium (Cr), % | 1.5 to 2.0 | |
0 to 0.15 |
Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.15 |
Iron (Fe), % | 92.5 to 95.1 | |
0 to 0.5 |
Magnesium (Mg), % | 0 | |
1.7 to 2.4 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0.2 to 0.4 | |
0.1 to 0.5 |
Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.4 to 0.6 | |
0 |
Nickel (Ni), % | 2.8 to 3.9 | |
0 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.015 | |
0 |
Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
0 to 0.4 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.010 | |
0 |
Titanium (Ti), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.15 |
Vanadium (V), % | 0 to 0.080 | |
0 |
Zinc (Zn), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.15 |
Residuals, % | 0 | |
0 to 0.15 |