Scandium and Aluminium - Comparison - Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of scandium and aluminium, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Scandium vs Aluminium.

scandium and aluminium - comparison

Compare scandium with another element

Compare aluminium with another element

Scandium and Aluminium – About Elements

Scandium

Scandium is a silvery-white metallic d-block element, it has historically been sometimes classified as a rare-earth element, together with yttrium and the lanthanides.

Aluminium

Aluminium is a silvery-white, soft, nonmagnetic, ductile metal in the boron group. By mass, aluminium makes up about 8% of the Earth’s crust; it is the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon and the most abundant metal in the crust, though it is less common in the mantle below.

Scandium in Periodic Table

Aluminium in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Scandium and Aluminium – Applications

Scandium

The main application of scandium by weight is in aluminium-scandium alloys for minor aerospace industry components. These alloys contain between 0.1% and 0.5% of scandium. Sc drastically improves Al alloys, increasing strength, corrosion resistance and weldability.

Aluminium

Aluminium and its alloys are used widely in aerospace, automotive, architectural, lithographic, packaging, electrical and electronic applications. It is the prime material of construction for the aircraft industry throughout most of its history. About 70% of commercial civil aircraft airframes are made from aluminium alloys, and without aluminium civil aviation would not be economically viable. Automotive industry now includes aluminium as engine castings, wheels, radiators and increasingly as body parts. 6111 aluminium and 2008 aluminium alloy are extensively used for external automotive body panels. Cylinder blocks and crankcases are often cast made of aluminium alloys.

Scandium and Aluminium – Comparison in Table

Element	Scandium	Aluminium
Density	2.985 g/cm3	2.7 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	200 MPa	90 MPa (pure), 600 MPa (alloys)
Yield Strength	N/A	11 MPa (pure), 400 MPa (alloys)
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	74.4 GPa	70 GPa
Mohs Scale	N/A	2.8
Brinell Hardness	740 – 1200 MPa	240 MPa
Vickers Hardness	N/A	167 MPa
Melting Point	1541 °C	660 °C
Boiling Point	2830 °C	2467 °C
Thermal Conductivity	15.8 W/mK	237 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	10.2 µm/mK	23.1 µm/mK
Specific Heat	0.6 J/g K	0.9 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	14.1 kJ/mol	10.79 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	314.2 kJ/mol	293.4 kJ/mol