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S38815 Stainless Steel vs. 2018 Aluminum

S38815 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 2018 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 27 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 S38815 stainless steel and the bottom bar is 2018 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 190
120
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
73
Elongation at Break, % 34
9.6
Fatigue Strength, MPa 230
120
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 74
27
Shear Strength, MPa 410
270
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 610
420
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 290
310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
390
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 860
220
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1360
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1310
510
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 500
870
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 15
22

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 19
11
Density, g/cm3 7.5
3.1
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 3.8
8.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 54
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 140
1130

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 170
37
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220
670
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 25
45
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 22
38
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 21
41
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15
19

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0 to 0.3
89.7 to 94.4
Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.030
0
Chromium (Cr), % 13 to 15
0 to 0.1
Copper (Cu), % 0.75 to 1.5
3.5 to 4.5
Iron (Fe), % 56.1 to 67
0 to 1.0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
0.45 to 0.9
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 2.0
0 to 0.2
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0.75 to 1.5
0
Nickel (Ni), % 13 to 17
1.7 to 2.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0
Silicon (Si), % 5.5 to 6.5
0 to 0.9
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.020
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.25
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15