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6101 Aluminum vs. ACI-ASTM CF20 Steel

6101 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ACI-ASTM CF20 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 21 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (11, 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 6101 aluminum and the bottom bar is ACI-ASTM CF20 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Elongation at Break, % 10 to 25
50
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
77

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
300
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 160
970
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1420
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 620
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 220 to 230
16
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
17

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 57 to 60
2.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 190 to 200
2.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
16
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
3.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
44
Embodied Water, L/kg 1190
150

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 89 to 93
4.3

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 97.6 to 99.4
0
Boron (B), % 0 to 0.060
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.2
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.030
18 to 21
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
64.2 to 74
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.35 to 0.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.030
0 to 1.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
8.0 to 11
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0.3 to 0.7
0 to 2.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.1
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.1
0