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6101B Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI M6 Steel

6101B aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI M6 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 21 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (10, 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 6101B aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI M6 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
77
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 190 to 250
840 to 2210

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
260
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1560
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 630
1510
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
440
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 210
17
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
39
Density, g/cm3 2.7
8.4
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
8.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
120
Embodied Water, L/kg 1190
160

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
23
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 20 to 25
28 to 73
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 27 to 32
24 to 45
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 87
4.7
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 8.5 to 11
26 to 68

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 98.2 to 99.3
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.75 to 0.85
Chromium (Cr), % 0
3.8 to 4.5
Cobalt (Co), % 0
11 to 13
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.050
0
Iron (Fe), % 0.1 to 0.3
68.8 to 74.6
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.35 to 0.6
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.050
0.15 to 0.4
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
4.5 to 5.5
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0.3 to 0.6
0.2 to 0.45
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Tungsten (W), % 0
3.8 to 4.8
Vanadium (V), % 0
1.3 to 1.7
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.1
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.1
0