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ASTM A387 Grade 12 Steel vs. 5040 Aluminum

ASTM A387 grade 12 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 5040 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 A387 grade 12 steel and the bottom bar is 5040 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 140 to 160
66 to 74
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
70
Elongation at Break, % 25
5.7 to 6.8
Fatigue Strength, MPa 190 to 230
100 to 130
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
26
Shear Strength, MPa 300 to 330
140 to 150
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 470 to 520
240 to 260
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 260 to 310
190 to 230

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
400
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 430
190
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1470
650
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
600
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 44
160
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
23

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.2
41
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.3
130

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 2.8
9.5
Density, g/cm3 7.8
2.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.6
8.3
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 21
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 51
1180

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 98 to 110
14 to 15
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 180 to 250
260 to 380
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
50
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 16 to 18
24 to 26
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 17 to 18
31 to 32
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 12
64
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14 to 15
10 to 11

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
95.2 to 98
Carbon (C), % 0.050 to 0.17
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0.8 to 1.2
0.1 to 0.3
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 97 to 98.2
0 to 0.7
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
1.0 to 1.5
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 0.65
0.9 to 1.4
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0.45 to 0.6
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.025
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.15 to 0.4
0 to 0.3
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.025
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.25
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15