Aluminum Strength vs Steel Strength

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StrengthofAluminumvsStrengthofSteel
Copyright20012010MichaelKasten Ibelieveinmetalastheultimateboatstructure,andasaresultIhavecreatedquiteanumberofmetalboatdesigns.Toreview them,pleaseseetheSailBoatsGalleryandthePowerBoatsGallery.IhavealsocreatedquiteanumberofPrototypeDesigns, mostofwhicharealsointendedformetalstructure.Sailorpowermonoormultihullifthestructureiswelldesignedandwell built,theresultisexcellence. Iamoftenaskedaboutonemetalvs.anothermostcommonlysteelvs.aluminum.Idonothaveadistinctpreference,sincethere aresomanyfactorsthatwillcontributetothatdecisionforeachboat,andforeachowner.Someboatsaredesignedforone materialonly,otherboatscanmakeuseofeither. Ingeneral,anyofmydesignsthathavebeendevelopedforsteelcanquicklyberespecifiedforconstructioninaluminum.The designconversionfromsteeltoaluminumisdoneatnoextracost,unlessofcoursethereareotherchangestobemadetothe design.WhereNCcuttingfilesexistforasteelboat,theywillneedtoberedoneinordertoworkforaluminumstructure,and therewillbeacostincurredforthatconversion. Anyofmydesignsthatwereoriginallydevelopedforaluminumstructurearenotusuallysoreadilyconvertedtosteel,sincethey willhavebeendesignedspecificallytosaveweight.Therefore,inordertoconvertoneofthemtosteelstructurewillordinarily requireareworkofthehullshapeinordertosupporttheextraweightofsteel.Forsomeboats,thatisnotmuchtrouble.Forother boats,inparticularsmallones,steelmaynotevenbeanoption.Ifaconversiontosteelisofinterestforoneofmyaluminum designs,pleaseinquire.formoreinformation. Youwillfindmoreinformationaboutcostsandotherconsiderationsbetweenthesemetalsamongtheessayslinkedfrommy Articleswebpage. Below,Ihavepresentedacomparisonofsteelvs.aluminumonthebasisofstrength...

IsThereaDifference?
Thequestionhasbeenasked:"Whataboutrocksandiceandthingsthataboatcanruninto?Doeseithersteeloraluminumprovide anadvantageinarealworldsense?" Asapartialanswertothosequestions,hereareafewthingstoconsider...Inadditiontothesefewthoughts,youmaywantto reviewmyCruisingWorldarticle,AluminumForBoats,(towhichCWgavethetitle"ToThineOwnChinesBeTrue").TheCWarticle givesagoodoverviewofaluminum,bothintermsofbuilding,andintermsofowninganaluminumboat. Thispageoffersabitofadditionalinformationregardingtherelativestrengthofthetwomaterials.Thisbriefarticleisintended onlytobeageneralwayofviewingsteelandaluminumastheyareusedinboatstructures. Aswewillsee,theissuesofstrengtharetippedsomewhatinfavorofaluminum,mostlyforthereasonofitslighterweight.Being muchlighter,aluminumwillpermitamorerobuststructurewithinanygivenweightbudget.

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Aluminum Strength vs Steel Strength

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BuilttotheSameStandard
Analuminumhullstructure,builttothesamestandards,weighsroughly35%to45%lessthanthesamehullinsteel.Asaresult,if highstrengthisofthehighestpriority,thealloyboatcanbebuilttothesamestructuralweightasthesteelvessel,andthenbe considerablystronger. Thisislessofanissueforlargervesselswhichareabletocarrythenecessarydisplacementforwhatevermaterialschoiceismade. Forsmallervesselshowever,theweightofthehullstructureisverymuchanissue.Forasmallcruisingvessel,sayunderaround35 feetorso,steelbecomeslessoptimum,asonemustresorttoalargewaterplaneandalargedisplacementtocarrytheweightof thestructure. Whenalloyisdesignedtothesamestandardsassteel(ABS,Lloydsorothersimilarclassificationsociety),itismadetobehigherin overallstrength.Thereasonforthisisthataluminumreachesits"endurancelimit"soonerthansteelintermsofflexure.Therefore therigidityofstructure(deflection)becomesthelimitingdesigncriteriaforanaluminumstructure,andthisforcesahigherthan necessaryoverallyieldandtensilestrength. Withsteel,onedesignstotheyieldpointofthematerialinstead,sinceforsteel,flexureandrigidityarenotordinarilyalimiting issue.Forsteeltherefore,theyieldpointofan"equivalent"structurewillbeconsiderablyless,aswewillsee. Oneadvantageofsteelisthatbetweentheyieldpointofmildsteel(around36,000psi)andtheultimatetensilefailurepoint (around60,000psi)thereisquitealargeplasticrange(around24,000psiorroughly40%oftheultimatestrength),permittinga steelvesseltoenduredeflectionwithoutfailure,sopermittingconsiderableabilitytoabsorbenergy.

Scantlings
Foralloy,theyieldpointandultimatefailurepointofthat"equivalent"structure(designedtothesamestandardsofrigidity)turn outtobegloballymuchgreaterfortworeasons: 1)Aluminum5083H116plate,asanexample,hasayieldstrengthofaround34,000psiandanultimate strengthofaround45,000psi.Wecanseethattheplasticrangeofaluminumisconsiderablylessthansteel (around11,000psiplasticrangeforaluminum,orroughly24%ofthematerial'sultimatestrength). 2)Sinceanaluminumstructureisdesignedtoadeflectioncriteria,allscantlingsaremadesomewhere around50%orsolargerthantheywouldbeforasteelstructure.Forthesakeofaneasyexample,what wouldbeoneinchofplatethicknessonasteelvesselwouldbeapproximatelyoneandahalfinchesof platethicknessonthealuminumvesselinordertoachievethesamerigidityofstructure.

InchforInch
Again,forthesakeofaneasytofollowcomparison,wemightsaythat"oneinch"ofsteelplatewillyieldbeyonditsabilityto recoveritsoriginalshapeatapproximately36kpsi,andwillfailatapproximately60kpsi. A"strengthequivalent"aluminumstructure,havinguseddeflection(stiffness)asthedesigncriteria,willhavebeenbuiltusing roughly50%greaterplatethickness.Wemightthensaythatthisstrengthequivalent"oneandahalfinch"thickaluminumplate willyieldataround51kpersquareinchofsurfacearea(around29%greateryieldstrengththanthe"equivalent"regionofsteel plate),andwillfailataround67.5kpsi(around12.5%greaterultimatestrengththanthe"equivalent"regionofsteelplate). Ofcoursethesebroadgeneralizationsareintendedonlyasawayofillustratingtheapproximaterelativestrengthsofthematerials. However,fromtheseconsiderationswecanseethatthealuminumvesselwillhaveagreateroverallstrengththanthesteelvessel persquareareaofplate.Thereasonforthisisthatthealuminumplatewill,forthesakeofstiffness,be150%thesizeofthesteel plate. Theresultinpracticaltermsisthataboatbuiltinaluminumwillbefarlesseasytodentbyrunningintostuff(roughly29%higher regionalyieldstrength),andwillhaveaslightlyhigherresistancetoultimatefailure(around12.5%).Asanaddedbonus,thismeans thatthealuminumyachtwillresistdistortionallthebetterwhilebeingweldedduringconstruction.Asanextraaddedbonus,the aluminumstructurewillweighconsiderablylessthantheequivalentsteelstructure. DaveGerrhasequatedthetwomaterialssimilarly,referringtoamaterial'sstructuralefficiency.Bythis,hemeanstheratioofa material'sstiffnesstothedensityofthatmaterial.Perthoseequations,aluminumisshowntohavea"structuralefficiency"much greaterthansteel.Inmorepreciseterms,forcolumnsthataredesignedtoanequivalentstiffnessanaluminumcolumnwillweigh 57%oftheequivalentcolumninsteel.Forbeamsandpanels(framesandplating)designedtothesamestiffness,analuminum structurewillweigh48%oftheequivalentstructureinsteel.

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Inmyview,Gerrhasmadeanexcellentcomparison.Ineverydayterms,analuminumstructurewilloftenendupweighingalittle morethanthosepercentagesmightindicate,mainlyduetoaccountingforthe"aswelded"strengthofaluminum...

"AsWelded"Strength
Theplotthickenssomewhatwhenyouconsiderthattheasweldedstrengthof5083H116aluminumplate(intheheataffected zone)is23kpsiyield,and39kpsiultimatestrength.Theasweldedstrengthwillvary,butthosearethevaluespermittedbythe ABSforstructuralcalcs. Forthatsame"sample"plateregion(havingmadethealuminumplate1.5timesasthickasthesteelplate)theasweldedoneand ahalfinchaluminumplatewillhaveroughly34.5kpsi"persquarearea"yield,slightlybehindsteel. Intermsofultimatestrengthintheasweldedcondition,the150%thickeraluminumplatecomestoroughly58.5kpsi"persquare area"whichisagainveryclosetosteelforastructuredesignedtoan"equivalent"standard. Onemightthenargueinfavorofsteelwhichhasveryslightlyhighervalues,exceptthattheresultingstructurewillstillberoughly 1/3lighterinaluminumthaninsteel. Foraluminumplate,tocompensateforthelossofstrengthintheweldzone,allbuttjointsareplannedsothattheymayhave backingbarsandextralongitudinalreinforcement.Additionally,buttjointsareplacedsothattheyarearound25%ofthedistance betweensupports(frames).Theadditionallong'sandthebackingbarareintendedtogivebackthemajorityoftheloststrength, andthelocationofthebuttplacestheweldatthepointofleastbendingstressintheplate.

Fatigue
Inasteelstructure,fatigueisnormallynotconsideredforgeneralstructure(fatigueisnotusuallythelimitingcriteria).The exceptionofcourseisaroundenginesandchainplates. Aluminumhowever,issubjecttofatiguefailure(referredtoasitsendurancelimit)morereadilythanmildsteel.Soanalloyvessel musthaveitsendurancelimitconsideredmorecarefullywherevertherewillbevibration,againprimarilyattheengine,butalsoat chainplatesandotherhighstresspoints. Theobviousdesignsolutionistoincreasethescantlingssothatdeflectioniskeptwithintheallowablerange.Withaluminum,this isveryeffective,anddoesnotincurmuchofaweightpenalty.

Corrosion
Itshouldbekeptinmindthatovertimetheprobabilityisthatcorrosionmaydiminishthescantlingsofsteelmorerapidlythanwith alloy,althoughwhenyouthrowelectricityintothewater,analloyhullhasthepotentialtolosethicknessatamuchmorerapidrate. Asaresult,onemustdesignthevessel'selectricalsystemcorrectly,andthenmanageitwithvigilance.

Strength
Theshortanswertoouroriginalquestionisthatintermsofstrength,presuminganalloyandasteelvesselofthesamedesignhave beenengineeredcorrectly,theywillhaveverynearlythesamestrength,withthebalancetippedsomewhatinfavorofaluminum, bothintermsofoverallyield,andintermsofultimatefailure. Intermsofweight,thebalanceistippedverysignificantlyinfavorofaluminum. Ofcourse,takingthatonestepfurther,ifthealuminumvesselisdesignedtohaveexactlythesameweightofstructureasany givenmildsteelvessel,thealuminumboatwillhaveconsiderablygreaterstrengththanthesteelvessel.

WhatAboutCorTenSteel?
Insteel,withoutincreasingtheweightofstructure,onecanachieveroughlya40%greateryieldstrengthoverthatofmildsteelby simplyusingCorTensteel,AKA"Corten"analloydevelopedbyUSSteelforincreasedatmosphericcorrosionresistance.Forboat building,CorTenoffersnocorrosionadvantage.CorTenneedsthesamerigorouspaintprotectionasmildsteel.CorTenhasits mainadvantageinlighterweightstructures,whereonecannotincreaseweight,butgreaterstrengthisrequired.

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AtypicalexamplemightbetomakeuseofCorTenwherehullplatethicknessmustbelessthanaround3/16inch.Inthiscase,one canmakegooduseofCorTeninordertohavebettercontroloverdistortionduringfabricationandbetterdentresistanceinuse. Roughlyspeaking,a10gaugeregionofCorTenplate,havingroughly40%greaterstrength,willbehavemoreorlesssimilarlytoa 3/16inchregionofmildsteelplate.ThepracticalresultisthataCorTenhullofagiventhicknesswillhaveagreaterresistanceto distortionduringweldingwhencomparedtoamildsteelhullofthesamethickness,andwillbelesslikelytobedentedbyrunning intostuff. "CorTen"issimplyabrandnameforoneoftheHighStrengthLowAlloysteels(HSLA).TheHSLAsteelsthataresuitableforboat buildingareusuallyreferredtobytheirASTMalloynumber. "CorTenA"isalsoknownasASTMA242,whichisanolderspecificationforthecurrentASTMA606(usuallyforsheetunder3/16") andASTMA588(usuallyforplateover3/16"thickness).ASTMA588isalsoknownas"CorTenB"andisthemorecommonly encounteredcurrentspecforCorTen,sinceithasaminimumyieldstrengthof50kpsiinplatesofgreaterthickness. Analloysometimesspecifiedforlowtemperatureapplicationsis"TriTen"alsoknownasASTMA441.Analternate(newer)spec forthisalloyisA607whenreferringtosheet,orA572andA572Mwhenreferringtoplate.The"TriTen"alloyscontainasmall amountofvanadium(A572),ortheymaycontainbothvanadiumandmanganese(A572M). TheadditionofthesealloyingelementstoHSLAsteelsallowsthemtoachievegreaterstrengthbyproducingamorerefined microstructureascomparedwithplaincarbonsteel(mildsteel).Thealloyingelementsprovideasmallercrystallinegrainsizeanda finedispersionofalloyedcarbides,thusprovidehigheryieldstrengthwithoutsacrificingductility.

HighStrengthLowAlloySteelCommonNames&Properties
ASTMA57250 EXTEN50 ASTMA441 HSLA STRUCTURAL STEELS ASTMA242 TRITEN CORTENA Offers50KSIminimumyield. Offers50KSIminimumyield.Resistancetoatmospheric corrosiontwicethatofcarbonsteel. Resistancetoatmosphericcorrosionfourtimesthatof carbonsteel.Excellentpaintadhesion.

SimilartoA242.Modifiedchemistryoffers50KSI ASTMA588A CORTENB minimumyield.Resistancetoatmosphericcorrosionfour timesthatofcarbonsteel. RegardingCorTen,intermsofeitheryieldorultimatestrength,ifwe'recomparinganaluminumvesselhavingahullstructureof thesameweightasthesamevesseldesignhavingaCorTensteelstructure,itisinterestingtonotethatthealuminumvesselwill stillbethestrongerofthetwo.Thisbecomesobviouswhenyouconsiderthataluminumweighsonlyaround168lbpercubicfoot, whilesteelweighsaround490lbsforthesamevolume,permittingthealuminumcomponentstobenearlythreetimesthesizeof thesteelcomponentswithinthesameweightbudget. Naturally,itwouldbehighlyunusualtodothat,mostlyduetocost.Instead,thealuminumboatcanbeoptimizedinother directions,suchasreducingoveralldisplacement,orkeepingthesamedisplacementandgettingagreaterrangeunderpowerby beingabletocarrymorefuelwithinthesamedisplacement,andsoon.

ThePlasticRange
Anadvantageinfavorofsteel,asmentioned,isthelargerspreadbetweentheyieldpointofsteelanditsultimatebreakingpoint, referredtoasits>plasticrange.Practicallyspeaking,thismeansthatwhileagivenstructureinsteelmaybecomparableintermsof ultimatetensilestrengthtoits"equivalent"aluminumcounterpart,themildsteelstructurewillyieldmorereadily. Thedownsideisthatthe"equivalent"steelvesselwilldentmorereadily.Theupsideisthatasteelvesselwillabsorbmoreenergy onimpact(broaderplasticrange).Analuminumvesselof"equivalent"designstrengthwillbeconsiderablylesseasytodent(a plus),andwillhaveapproximatelythesameultimatefailurepoint. Aluminumissaidtobeless"plastic"inthatregard;anotherwayofviewingitslesserresistancetoflexureandofunderstandingthe primaryrequirementforrigidityofstructure(toavoidflexure)whendesigningandbuildinginaluminum.

Abrasion
Ofcourse,onebigadvantageofsteelisitssuperiorabrasionresistancewhencomparedtoanyotherboatbuildingmaterial,even aluminum.Thisturnsouttobeanadvantageforsteelinuse,butanadvantageforaluminumduringconstruction,sincealuminum

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canbecutusingordinarypowertools.Ratherthanrequiringatorchforcutting,insteadthesabersaw,circularsaw,routerandthe bandsawbecomethetoolsofchoice. Thesetoolsmakeconstructionnotonlyeasier,theyalsospeedconstructionimmensely.Alongwiththeveryfastspeedofwelding aluminum,thiscombinationoftenprovidesacostadvantageforaluminuminthehandsofacapablebuilder.

TheBottomLine
Inchoosingbetweensteelandaluminum,thedecidingpointsaremainlyintherealmsof: I.Budget:Manybuilderscanprovideanalloyvesselforaboutthesamecostasoneinsteel,ifthealloyboatisnot paintedexceptonthebottom. II.Maintenance:Whatisnotpaintedwillnotneedtoberepainted. III.Resale:Analuminumboatwillhaveamuchhigherresalevaluethanasteelboat,allowinganyminordifference inoriginalcosttobemorethanrecovered. IV.Weight:Aswe'veseen,aluminumwinsthisone,andinalargervessel,willpermitlighterdisplacement,a smallerengine,andgreaterrange. V.CarryingCapacity:Lessweightbeinggiventostructurewillallowmoretobeputintofuelorcargo. VI.Stability:Aluminumwinsagainduetobeinglighterandthereforepermittingweightstobelowerdown.With correctdesign,adjustingthevesseltosuitthematerial,thereisnoreasontopreferonematerialortheother,unlesssteelwill betopheavyforagivenvesselsizerestriction. VII.Strength::Theoverallpointtobekeptinmindisthatanaluminumstructurecanbemadewithmuchlarger scantlings,thesameorgreaterstrength,andstillbemuchlighterthanasimilarstructureinsteel.Insimpleterms,aluminum isstructurallymore"efficient"thansteel. Doesallofthismakesteel'inferior'toaluminum?Notatall..! Forexample,steelismuchmoreabrasionresistantthanaluminum,andismoreductileintermsoffatigueresistanceandinterms ofhavingabroader'plasticrange.'Yessteelisheavier,howeverthattranslatesintoimprovedcomfort.Yessteelmustbepainted, butifproperlydonethepaintsystemwillnotbeanymoretroublethanmaintainingafiberglassboat.

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