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6012 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 8640 Steel

6012 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 8640 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, in this case) are not shown. Please note that the two materials have significantly dissimilar densities. This means that additional care is required when interpreting the data, because some material properties are based on units of mass, while others are based on units of area or volume.

For each property being compared, the top bar is 6012 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 8640 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
190
Elongation at Break, % 9.1 to 11
23
Fatigue Strength, MPa 55 to 100
270
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 130 to 190
360
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 220 to 320
570
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 110 to 260
380

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
410
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 890
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 160
39
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 45
7.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
8.4

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
2.6
Density, g/cm3 2.9
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.2
1.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
20
Embodied Water, L/kg 1170
50

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 21 to 28
120
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 94 to 480
380
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 48
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 22 to 32
20
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 29 to 37
20
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 62
10
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 10 to 14
17

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 92.2 to 98
0
Bismuth (Bi), % 0 to 0.7
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.38 to 0.43
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.3
0.4 to 0.6
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
96.6 to 97.8
Lead (Pb), % 0.4 to 2.0
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.6 to 1.2
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 1.0
0.75 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.15 to 0.25
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0.4 to 0.7
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0.6 to 1.4
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.3
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0