ASTM A572 Steel vs. EN AC-46500 Aluminum
ASTM A572 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while EN AC-46500 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 30 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 A572 steel and the bottom bar is EN AC-46500 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness | 140 to 190 | |
91 |
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
74 |
Elongation at Break, % | 18 to 25 | |
1.0 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 240 to 340 | |
110 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
0.33 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
28 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 470 to 620 | |
270 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 330 to 510 | |
160 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
520 |
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
180 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
610 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
520 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
880 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 51 | |
100 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
21 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.2 | |
26 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.2 to 8.3 | |
81 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 2.0 | |
10 |
Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
2.9 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.6 | |
7.6 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 22 | |
140 |
Embodied Water, L/kg | 47 | |
1030 |
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 100 to 110 | |
2.3 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 290 to 690 | |
170 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
14 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
49 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 17 to 22 | |
26 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 17 to 21 | |
32 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
41 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 18 | |
12 |