6101 Aluminum vs. AZ81A Magnesium
6101 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AZ81A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 21 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (12, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is 6101 aluminum and the bottom bar is AZ81A magnesium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 68 | |
| 46 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 10 to 25 | |
| 3.0 to 8.8 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 26 | |
| 18 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 400 | |
| 350 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 160 | |
| 130 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 650 | |
| 600 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 620 | |
| 500 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 990 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 220 to 230 | |
| 84 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 23 | |
| 27 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 57 to 60 | |
| 12 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 190 to 200 | |
| 65 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 9.5 | |
| 12 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
| 1.7 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.3 | |
| 23 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
| 160 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 1190 | |
| 990 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 15 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 70 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 89 to 93 | |
| 50 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 97.6 to 99.4 | |
| 7.0 to 8.1 |
| Boron (B), % | 0 to 0.060 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.5 | |
| 0 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 0.35 to 0.8 | |
| 89.8 to 92.5 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0.13 to 0.35 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.3 to 0.7 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0.4 to 1.0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |