6061 Aluminum vs. WE54A Magnesium
6061 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while WE54A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is 6061 aluminum and the bottom bar is WE54A magnesium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 69 | |
| 44 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 3.4 to 20 | |
| 4.3 to 5.6 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 58 to 110 | |
| 98 to 130 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 26 | |
| 17 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 84 to 210 | |
| 150 to 170 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 130 to 410 | |
| 270 to 300 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 76 to 370 | |
| 180 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 400 | |
| 330 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 170 | |
| 170 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 650 | |
| 640 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 580 | |
| 570 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 960 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 170 | |
| 52 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 24 | |
| 25 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 43 | |
| 10 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 140 | |
| 47 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 9.5 | |
| 34 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
| 1.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.3 | |
| 29 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
| 260 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 1180 | |
| 900 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 3.8 to 81 | |
| 10 to 14 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 42 to 1000 | |
| 360 to 380 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 62 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 13 to 42 | |
| 39 to 43 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 21 to 45 | |
| 49 to 51 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 68 | |
| 28 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 5.7 to 18 | |
| 18 to 19 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 95.9 to 98.6 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0.040 to 0.35 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0.15 to 0.4 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.7 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Lithium (Li), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 0.8 to 1.2 | |
| 88.7 to 93.4 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 0.15 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0050 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.4 to 0.8 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 to 0.15 | |
| 0 |
| Unspecified Rare Earths, % | 0 | |
| 1.5 to 4.0 |
| Yttrium (Y), % | 0 | |
| 4.8 to 5.5 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 0 | |
| 0.4 to 1.0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |