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6061 Aluminum vs. Zamak 3

6061 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while Zamak 3 belongs to the zinc alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (7, 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 Zamak 3.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
86
Elongation at Break, % 3.4 to 20
11
Fatigue Strength, MPa 58 to 110
48
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.25
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
33
Shear Strength, MPa 84 to 210
210
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 130 to 410
280
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 76 to 370
210

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
120
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
95
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
390
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 580
380
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
410
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 170
110
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
27

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 43
27
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
38

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
11
Density, g/cm3 2.7
6.4
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
3.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
57
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
380

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 3.8 to 81
28
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 42 to 1000
260
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
7.5
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
23
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 13 to 42
12
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 21 to 45
15
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 68
43
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 5.7 to 18
8.6

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.9 to 98.6
3.5 to 4.3
Cadmium (Cd), % 0
0 to 0.0050
Chromium (Cr), % 0.040 to 0.35
0
Copper (Cu), % 0.15 to 0.4
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
0 to 0.1
Lead (Pb), % 0
0 to 0.0050
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.8 to 1.2
0.020 to 0.060
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.15
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.020
Silicon (Si), % 0.4 to 0.8
0 to 0.030
Tin (Sn), % 0
0 to 0.0030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
95.3 to 96.5
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0