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SAE-AISI L3 Steel vs. 8021 Aluminum

SAE-AISI L3 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 8021 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 23 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (6, 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 SAE-AISI L3 steel and the bottom bar is 8021 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
70
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 72
26
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 600 to 2250
160

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1450
650
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1410
640
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 43
220
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
23

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.4
56
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.5
180

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 2.5
9.0
Density, g/cm3 7.8
2.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.9
8.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 27
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 53
1180

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
49
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 21 to 80
16
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 20 to 49
23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 12
88
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 18 to 67
7.0

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
98 to 98.8
Carbon (C), % 1.0 to 1.1
0
Chromium (Cr), % 1.3 to 1.7
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.050
Iron (Fe), % 95.5 to 97.3
1.2 to 1.7
Manganese (Mn), % 0.25 to 0.8
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.030
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.1 to 0.5
0 to 0.15
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0
Vanadium (V), % 0.1 to 0.3
0
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15