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6061 Aluminum vs. ASTM Grade HC Steel

6061 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM grade HC 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 6061 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM grade HC steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
200
Elongation at Break, % 3.4 to 20
6.0
Fatigue Strength, MPa 58 to 110
96
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.27
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
80
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 130 to 410
430
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 76 to 370
200

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
310
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
1100
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1410
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 580
1370
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
490
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 170
17
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
11

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 43
2.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
2.6

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
14
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.6
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
2.8
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
40
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
170

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.8 to 81
21
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 42 to 1000
95
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
15
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
26
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 13 to 42
16
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 21 to 45
16
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 68
4.5
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 5.7 to 18
14

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.9 to 98.6
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.5
Chromium (Cr), % 0.040 to 0.35
26 to 30
Copper (Cu), % 0.15 to 0.4
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
61.9 to 74
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.8 to 1.2
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.15
0 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 4.0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0.4 to 0.8
0 to 2.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0