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6063A Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 5160 Steel

6063A aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 5160 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 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 6063A aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 5160 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 6.7 to 18
12 to 18
Fatigue Strength, MPa 53 to 80
180 to 650
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 78 to 150
390 to 700
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 130 to 260
660 to 1150
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 55 to 200
280 to 1010

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 160
420
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 620
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 200
43
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 49 to 54
7.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 160 to 180
8.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
2.1
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
19
Embodied Water, L/kg 1190
50

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 13 to 21
73 to 160
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 22 to 280
200 to 2700
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 13 to 26
23 to 41
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 21 to 33
22 to 31
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 83
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 5.6 to 11
19 to 34

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 97.5 to 99
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.56 to 0.61
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.050
0.7 to 0.9
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0.15 to 0.35
97.1 to 97.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.6 to 0.9
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.15
0.75 to 1.0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0.3 to 0.6
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.15
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0

Comparable Variants