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6081 Aluminum vs. S41003 Stainless Steel

6081 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S41003 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 S41003 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
190
Elongation at Break, % 9.0
21
Fatigue Strength, MPa 110
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
76
Shear Strength, MPa 180
320
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 310
520
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270
310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 410
270
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 160
720
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1440
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 610
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 180
27
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
10

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 47
2.9
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 160
3.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
7.0
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
1.9
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
27
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
97

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 27
92
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 540
240
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 32
19
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 37
18
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 74
7.2
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
19

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 96.3 to 98.6
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
10.5 to 12.5
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
83.4 to 89.5
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.6 to 1.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.1 to 0.45
0 to 1.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 1.5
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0 to 0.030
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0.7 to 1.1
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0