EN AC-45100 Aluminum vs. EN 1.4421 Stainless Steel
EN AC-45100 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while EN 1.4421 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 EN AC-45100 aluminum and the bottom bar is EN 1.4421 stainless steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 72 | |
200 |
Elongation at Break, % | 1.0 to 2.8 | |
11 to 17 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 82 to 99 | |
380 to 520 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
0.28 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 27 | |
77 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 300 to 360 | |
880 to 1100 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 210 to 320 | |
620 to 950 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 470 | |
280 |
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 170 | |
870 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 630 | |
1440 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 550 | |
1400 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 890 | |
480 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 140 | |
16 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 22 | |
10 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 30 | |
2.2 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 95 | |
2.5 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 10 | |
12 |
Density, g/cm3 | 2.8 | |
7.8 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 7.9 | |
2.6 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
36 |
Embodied Water, L/kg | 1100 | |
130 |
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 3.5 to 7.6 | |
120 to 140 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 290 to 710 | |
960 to 2270 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
14 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 49 | |
25 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 30 to 35 | |
31 to 39 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 35 to 39 | |
26 to 30 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 54 | |
4.4 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 to 16 | |
31 to 39 |
Alloy Composition
Aluminum (Al), % | 88 to 92.8 | |
0 |
Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.060 |
Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
15.5 to 17.5 |
Copper (Cu), % | 2.6 to 3.6 | |
0 |
Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.6 | |
74.4 to 80.5 |
Lead (Pb), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
0 |
Magnesium (Mg), % | 0.15 to 0.45 | |
0 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 0.55 | |
0 to 1.0 |
Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.7 |
Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
4.0 to 5.5 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.035 |
Silicon (Si), % | 4.5 to 6.0 | |
0 to 0.8 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.020 |
Tin (Sn), % | 0 to 0.050 | |
0 |
Titanium (Ti), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
0 |
Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
0 |
Residuals, % | 0 to 0.15 | |
0 |