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6106 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI M46 Steel

6106 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI M46 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 6106 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI M46 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
77
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 290
800 to 2300

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
270
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 660
1540
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 610
1500
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
450
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 190
18
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
33
Density, g/cm3 2.7
8.1
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
12
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
180
Embodied Water, L/kg 1190
150

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 29
27 to 78
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 35
24 to 48
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 78
4.9
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13
25 to 71

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 97.2 to 99.3
0
Carbon (C), % 0
1.2 to 1.3
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.2
3.7 to 4.2
Cobalt (Co), % 0
7.8 to 8.8
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.35
70 to 73.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.4 to 0.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.050 to 0.2
0.2 to 0.4
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
8.0 to 8.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0.3 to 0.6
0.4 to 0.65
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Tungsten (W), % 0
1.9 to 2.2
Vanadium (V), % 0
3.0 to 3.3
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.15
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0