5056 Aluminum vs. 6061 Aluminum
Both 5056 aluminum and 6061 aluminum are aluminum alloys. They have a very high 96% of their average alloy composition in common.
For each property being compared, the top bar is 5056 aluminum and the bottom bar is 6061 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 67 | |
| 69 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 4.9 to 31 | |
| 3.4 to 20 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 140 to 200 | |
| 58 to 110 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.33 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 25 | |
| 26 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 170 to 240 | |
| 84 to 210 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 290 to 460 | |
| 130 to 410 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 150 to 410 | |
| 76 to 370 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 400 | |
| 400 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 190 | |
| 170 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
| 650 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 570 | |
| 580 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 910 | |
| 900 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 130 | |
| 170 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 24 | |
| 24 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 29 | |
| 43 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 99 | |
| 140 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 9.5 | |
| 9.5 |
| Calomel Potential, mV | -780 | |
| -740 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
| 2.7 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 9.0 | |
| 8.3 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
| 150 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 1180 | |
| 1180 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 12 to 140 | |
| 3.8 to 81 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 170 to 1220 | |
| 42 to 1000 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 51 | |
| 50 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 30 to 48 | |
| 13 to 42 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 36 to 50 | |
| 21 to 45 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 53 | |
| 68 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 13 to 20 | |
| 5.7 to 18 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 93 to 95.4 | |
| 95.9 to 98.6 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0.050 to 0.2 | |
| 0.040 to 0.35 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0.15 to 0.4 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.4 | |
| 0 to 0.7 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 4.5 to 5.6 | |
| 0.8 to 1.2 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.050 to 0.2 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0.4 to 0.8 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 to 0.25 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |