6081 Aluminum vs. ASTM A285 Carbon Steel
6081 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A285 carbon 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 6081 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A285 carbon steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 69 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 9.0 | |
| 30 to 34 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 110 | |
| 150 to 180 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 26 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 180 | |
| 250 to 290 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 310 | |
| 380 to 450 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 270 | |
| 190 to 230 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 410 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 160 | |
| 400 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
| 1470 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 610 | |
| 1420 to 1430 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 180 | |
| 53 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 23 | |
| 12 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 47 | |
| 7.0 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 160 | |
| 8.0 |
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 | |
| 46 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 27 | |
| 110 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 540 | |
| 94 to 150 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 32 | |
| 13 to 16 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 37 | |
| 15 to 17 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 74 | |
| 14 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 14 | |
| 12 to 14 |