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6060 Aluminum vs. ACI-ASTM CD3MCuN Steel

6060 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ACI-ASTM CD3MCuN steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 6060 aluminum and the bottom bar is ACI-ASTM CD3MCuN steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Elongation at Break, % 9.0 to 16
29
Fatigue Strength, MPa 37 to 70
370
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.27
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
80
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 140 to 220
790
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 71 to 170
500

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
300
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 160
1100
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 660
1440
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 610
1390
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 210
15
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 54
2.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 180
2.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
20
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
3.9
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
54
Embodied Water, L/kg 1190
180

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 13 to 24
200
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 37 to 210
620
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
15
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 14 to 23
28
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 22 to 30
24
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 85
4.1
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 6.3 to 9.9
22

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 97.9 to 99.3
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.050
24 to 26.7
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
1.4 to 1.9
Iron (Fe), % 0.1 to 0.3
58.2 to 65.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.35 to 0.6
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 1.2
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
2.9 to 3.8
Nickel (Ni), % 0
5.6 to 6.7
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.22 to 0.33
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0.3 to 0.6
0 to 1.1
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.15
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0