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6061 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI D3 Steel

6061 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI D3 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 28 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 SAE-AISI D3 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
190
Elongation at Break, % 3.4 to 20
9.8 to 15
Fatigue Strength, MPa 58 to 110
310 to 940
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
74
Shear Strength, MPa 84 to 210
470 to 1220
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 130 to 410
770 to 2050
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 76 to 370
480 to 1550

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
270
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1430
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 580
1390
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 170
31
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 43
3.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
3.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
8.0
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
3.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
48
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
100

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.8 to 81
97 to 180
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 13 to 42
28 to 74
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 21 to 45
24 to 47
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 68
8.3
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 5.7 to 18
23 to 63

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.9 to 98.6
0
Carbon (C), % 0
2.0 to 2.4
Chromium (Cr), % 0.040 to 0.35
11 to 13.5
Copper (Cu), % 0.15 to 0.4
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
80.3 to 87
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.8 to 1.2
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.15
0 to 0.6
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0.4 to 0.8
0 to 0.6
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Tungsten (W), % 0
0 to 1.0
Vanadium (V), % 0
0 to 1.0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0

Comparable Variants