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6061-T6 Aluminum vs. ASTM A36 Carbon Steel

6061-T6 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A36 carbon steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, 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-T6 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A36 carbon steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 93
140
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
190
Elongation at Break, % 10
22
Fatigue Strength, MPa 96
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 210
300
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 310
480
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270
290

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 580
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 170
50
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
11

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 43
12
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
14

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
1.8
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
44

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 30
92
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 520
220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 31
17
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 37
17
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 68
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
16

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.9 to 98.6
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.26
Chromium (Cr), % 0.040 to 0.35
0
Copper (Cu), % 0.15 to 0.4
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
99.25 to 100
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.8 to 1.2
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.15
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0.4 to 0.8
0 to 0.4
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0