6061-T6 Aluminum
6061-T6 aluminum is 6061 aluminum in the T6 temper. To achieve this temper, the metal is solution heat-treated and artificially aged until it meets standard mechanical property requirements. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare 6061-T6 aluminum to: 6000-series alloys (top), all aluminum alloys (middle), and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness
93
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
69 GPa 10 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
10 %
Fatigue Strength
96 MPa 14 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.33
Shear Modulus
26 GPa 3.8 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
210 MPa 30 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
310 MPa 45 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
270 MPa 39 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
400 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
170 °C 330 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
650 °C 1190 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
580 °C 1080 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
900 J/kg-K 0.21 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
170 W/m-K 97 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
24 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
43 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
140 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
9.5 % relative
Calomel Potential
-740 mV
Density
2.7 g/cm3 170 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
8.3 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
150 MJ/kg 66 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
1180 L/kg 140 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
30 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
520 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
50 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
31 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
37 points
Thermal Diffusivity
68 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
14 points
Alloy Composition
| Al | 95.9 to 98.6 | |
| Mg | 0.8 to 1.2 | |
| Si | 0.4 to 0.8 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.7 | |
| Cu | 0.15 to 0.4 | |
| Cr | 0.040 to 0.35 | |
| Zn | 0 to 0.25 | |
| Mn | 0 to 0.15 | |
| Ti | 0 to 0.15 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.15 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM B308: Standard Specification for Aluminum-Alloy 6061-T6 Standard Structural Profiles
ASTM B247: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Die Forgings, Hand Forgings, and Rolled Ring Forgings
ASTM B483: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Drawn Tube and Pipe for General Purpose Applications
ASTM B211: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Bar, Rod, and Wire
ASTM B210: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Drawn Seamless Tubes
ASTM B547: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Formed and Arc-Welded Round Tube
ASTM B221: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Extruded Bars, Rods, Wire, Profiles, and Tubes
Environmental Degradation of Advanced and Traditional Engineering Materials, Lloyd H. Hihara et al., 2014.
EN 754-2: Aluminium and aluminium alloys. Cold drawn rod/bar and tube. Mechanical properties
Advanced Materials in Automotive Engineering, Jason Rowe (editor), 2012