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Zamak 3 vs. 5251 Aluminum

Zamak 3 belongs to the zinc alloys classification, while 5251 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (5, 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 Zamak 3 and the bottom bar is 5251 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 83
44 to 79
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 86
68
Elongation at Break, % 11
2.0 to 19
Fatigue Strength, MPa 48
59 to 110
Poisson's Ratio 0.25
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 33
26
Shear Strength, MPa 210
110 to 160
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 280
180 to 280
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 210
67 to 250

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 120
400
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 95
180
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 390
650
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 380
610
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 410
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 110
150
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 27
24

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 27
37
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 38
120

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 11
9.5
Density, g/cm3 6.4
2.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 3.0
8.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 57
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 380
1180

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 28
5.4 to 27
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 260
33 to 450
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 7.5
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 23
50
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 12
18 to 29
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 15
26 to 35
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 43
61
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 8.6
7.9 to 13

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 3.5 to 4.3
95.5 to 98.2
Cadmium (Cd), % 0 to 0.0050
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0
0 to 0.15
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
0 to 0.15
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 0.5
Lead (Pb), % 0 to 0.0050
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.020 to 0.060
1.7 to 2.4
Manganese (Mn), % 0
0.1 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.020
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.030
0 to 0.4
Tin (Sn), % 0 to 0.0030
0
Titanium (Ti), % 0
0 to 0.15
Zinc (Zn), % 95.3 to 96.5
0 to 0.15
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15