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6162 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 4118 Steel

6162 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 4118 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, 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 6162 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 4118 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 6.7 to 9.1
23
Fatigue Strength, MPa 100 to 130
230
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 170 to 180
320
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 290 to 300
500
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 260 to 270
320

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 160
410
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 620
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 190
46
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 50
7.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 170
8.2

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
2.3
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
1.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
20
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
49

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 19 to 26
100
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 510 to 550
280
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 29 to 30
18
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 36
18
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 79
13
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13
15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 96.7 to 98.9
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.18 to 0.23
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
0.4 to 0.6
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.2
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
97.5 to 98.4
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.7 to 1.1
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.1
0.7 to 0.9
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.2 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0.4 to 0.8
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0