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Differences between Stainless Steel and Aluminum Sheet

Author: Ryan Justin
by Ryan Justin
Posted: Jul 14, 2016

Aluminum sheet is a popular material which has various applications in different paths of life. They are used as the metals like steel, copper, brass, zinc, lead or titanium. It is a silvery-white, non-magnetic and ductile metal. Though finding aluminum sheet suppliers can be a little tough in the vast market. Stainless steels are iron alloys with a minimum of 10.5% chromium. Other alloying elements are added to enhance their structure and properties such as formability, strength and cryogenic toughness.

What Differs From Stainless Steel To Aluminum?

  • The strength and the weight ratio differ from aluminum to stainless steel. Aluminum is not as typically strong as steel, but it is also almost one third of the weight. Therefore, aircraft are made from Aluminum.
  • Aluminum has a great thermal conductivity than stainless steel. Thus, aluminum is used for car radiators and air conditioning units.
  • Stainless steel is made up of iron, nickel, chromium, manganese and copper. The chromium is the agent which provides corrosion resistance. Since, steel is non-porous, the resistance to corrosion is increased. Aluminum is high in oxidation and corrosion resistant because of its passivation layer. When aluminum is oxidized, its surface will turn white and will sometimes pit. Aluminum may corrode rapidly with catastrophic results in few cases acidic or base environments.
  • Since aluminum sheet suppliers use recycled aluminum as it is economical and environmentally pretty compelling. Thus, aluminum is cheaper than stainless steel.
  • Stainless steels are harder and harder to form than aluminum. In the same way, aluminum is softer and easier to cut and form than stainless steel. Stainless can be difficult to work with because of its resistance to wear and abrasion.
  • Stainless is relatively easy to weld than aluminum.
  • Aluminum can become very soft above about 400 degrees but stainless can be used at much higher temperatures than that.
  • Stainless steel is a poor conductor compared to most metals. Aluminum, on the other hand is a very good conductor of electricity. Due to its high conductance, light weight and corrosion resistance, high-voltage overhead power lines are generally made of aluminum.
  • Stainless steel is less reactive with foods but aluminum can react to foods and even affect the color and flavor of the food.

The main requirement for stainless steel is that it is corrosion resistant for a specified application or environment. The selection of a particular type or grade of stainless steel must initially meet the corrosion resistance requirements. Additional mechanical or physical properties may also need to be considered to achieve the overall service performance requirements.

The production of aluminum is obtained from mineral bauxite. Firstly, the bauxite ore is converted to aluminum oxide (alumina) and the Bayer Process. Then, alumina is then converted into aluminum metal using electrolytic cells via Hall-Heroult Process. It takes around 14,000 kWh to produce 1 ton of new aluminum. You and find good Aluminum sheet suppliers in the internet and use as per their feature.

About the Author

Ryan justin is a challenging position as a Online Digital Marketing within a large exciting company. I want to use my technical background and expertise in Online Marketing by using valuable resources within a growing organization.

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Author: Ryan Justin

Ryan Justin

Member since: Jan 13, 2014
Published articles: 153

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