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6106 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 1078 Steel

6106 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1078 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, 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 6106 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1078 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
190
Elongation at Break, % 9.1
11 to 14
Fatigue Strength, MPa 88
270 to 350
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
72
Shear Strength, MPa 170
440 to 470
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 290
730 to 780
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 220
430 to 570

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 160
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 660
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 610
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 190
49
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
11

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 49
7.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 160
8.1

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
1.8
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 1190
45

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 24
77 to 90
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 370
490 to 860
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 29
26 to 28
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 35
23 to 24
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 78
13
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13
25 to 26

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 97.2 to 99.3
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.72 to 0.85
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.2
0
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
98.5 to 99
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.4 to 0.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.050 to 0.2
0.3 to 0.6
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0.3 to 0.6
0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.15
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0