Materials / Compare
Concrete vs. Iron Compare Concrete vs. Iron strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.
Change either side
Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA Rubber Wood Aluminum Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Steel Steel AISI 1018 Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Iron Titanium Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Brass C360 Brass C260 Copper C110 Glass Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Standard SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Concrete Brick Plywood Drywall Concrete Cast Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA Rubber Wood Aluminum Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Steel Steel AISI 1018 Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Iron Titanium Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Brass C360 Brass C260 Copper C110 Glass Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Standard SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Concrete Brick Plywood Drywall Iron Wrought Try it on a partA sample part to run stress or thermal on, free in your browser Open in LessCAD Open in LessCAD Mechanical Yield strength not sourced 186 MPa source typical (0.2% YS), hot rolled + SRA/recrystallization anneal Ultimate tensile strength not sourced 290 MPa source typical, SRA/recrystallization anneal Compressive strength 27.6 MPa source specified compressive strength class (f'c), not a measured typical not sourced Elongation at break not sourced 38 % source typical, gauge 4D0 Young's modulus (stiffness) not sourced 207 GPa source typical, after SRA/recrystallization anneal Density 2,240–2,400 kg/m³ source range for normalweight concrete 7,860 kg/m³ source typical Strength to weight not sourced 23.7 kN·m/kg Stiffness to weight not sourced 26.3 MN·m/kg Poisson's ratio 0.15–0.2 source general range at normal ambient conditions (overall 0.11-0.32) 0.282 source NIST critically evaluated best value (polycrystalline iron) Shear modulus not sourced 80.7 GPa Bulk modulus not sourced 158 GPa Speed of sound not sourced 5,132 m/s Thermal Thermal conductivity 0.9 W/m·K source typical (comparative value) 73.2 W/m·K source typical at 20 °C Thermal expansion 8–12 µm/m·K source typical range for portland cement concrete (aggregate dependent) 13.7 µm/m·K source mean, 20-399 °C 100 mm part over a 50 °C swing 50 µm growth 37% less 68.5 µm growth Specific heat 900 J/kg·K source typical (NIST guidance for thermal analysis) 450 J/kg·K source typical Heats up and cools (diffusivity) 0.431 mm²/s 20.7 mm²/s 48x faster Thermal shock resistance not sourced 3,447 W/m Melting point not sourced 1,532 °C source typical Max service temperature 65 °C source code long-term temperature limit (ASME Code, concrete containments) not sourced Values for Normal-weight portland cement concrete, strength class f'c = 4000 psi (28 MPa) per NRMCA CIP 35; density NRMCA CIP 36; thermal conductivity USDA FPL Wood Handbook; service temperature ORNL/NRC review Cleveland-Cliffs / AK Steel ARMCO Pure Iron Product Data Bulletin (07/2022): Table 1 typical physical properties, Table 2 typical mechanical properties after SRA/recrystallization anneal.
Every value links to the document that states it. "Not sourced" means no citable source states it (or only a specification minimum); figures computed from it are left out too.
Questions Which is lighter, Concrete or Iron? Concrete is lighter: 2,320 kg/m³ against 7,860 kg/m³ for Iron.
Which conducts heat better, Concrete or Iron? Iron conducts heat better: 73.2 W/m·K against 0.9 W/m·K for Concrete.
Which expands less with temperature? Concrete expands less: 10 µm/m·K against 13.7 µm/m·K for Iron.
Among 59 materials 1k 10k 0.1 1 10 100 Density (kg/m³) Young's modulus (GPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Aluminum Steel Titanium Steel AISI 1018 Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Brass C360 Copper C110 Glass Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Brass C260 Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Iron Stiffness against density 1k 10k 10 100 1k Density (kg/m³) Yield strength (MPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Rubber Aluminum Steel Titanium Steel AISI 1018 Stainless 304 Stainless 316 Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Brass C360 Copper C110 Glass Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Stainless 303 Stainless 17-4PH Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Brass C260 Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Brick Iron Strength against density