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SAE-AISI 5120 Steel vs. A357.0 Aluminum

SAE-AISI 5120 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while A357.0 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. 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 SAE-AISI 5120 steel and the bottom bar is A357.0 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 150
100
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
70
Elongation at Break, % 16
3.7
Fatigue Strength, MPa 210
100
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
26
Shear Strength, MPa 310
240
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 500
350
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 320
270

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
500
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 420
170
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
610
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
560
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 47
160
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 12
21

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.2
40
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.2
140

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 2.1
12
Density, g/cm3 7.8
2.6
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.4
8.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 19
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 49
1110

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 71
12
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 280
520
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
15
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
53
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 18
38
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 18
43
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 13
68
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 16
17

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
90.8 to 93
Beryllium (Be), % 0
0.040 to 0.070
Carbon (C), % 0.17 to 0.22
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0.7 to 0.9
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.2
Iron (Fe), % 97.6 to 98.3
0 to 0.2
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
0.4 to 0.7
Manganese (Mn), % 0.7 to 0.9
0 to 0.1
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.035
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.15 to 0.35
6.5 to 7.5
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.040
0
Titanium (Ti), % 0
0.040 to 0.2
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.1
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15