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6082 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 5120 Steel

6082 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 5120 steel belongs to the iron alloys. 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 6082 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 5120 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 40 to 95
150
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
190
Elongation at Break, % 6.3 to 18
16
Fatigue Strength, MPa 55 to 130
210
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 84 to 220
310
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 140 to 340
500
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 85 to 320
320

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 410
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
420
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 160
47
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 42
7.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
8.2

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 1170
49

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 19 to 43
71
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 52 to 710
280
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 14 to 35
18
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 21 to 40
18
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 67
13
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 6.0 to 15
16

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.2 to 98.3
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.17 to 0.22
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.25
0.7 to 0.9
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
97.6 to 98.3
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.6 to 1.2
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 1.0
0.7 to 0.9
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0.7 to 1.3
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0