6182 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 1038 Steel
6182 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1038 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 6182 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1038 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 70 | |
190 |
Elongation at Break, % | 6.8 to 13 | |
14 to 20 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 63 to 99 | |
220 to 350 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
0.29 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 26 | |
73 |
Shear Strength, MPa | 140 to 190 | |
370 to 390 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 230 to 320 | |
590 to 640 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 130 to 270 | |
320 to 540 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 410 | |
250 |
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 190 | |
400 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
1460 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 600 | |
1420 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
470 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 160 | |
51 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 23 | |
12 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 40 | |
7.0 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 130 | |
8.0 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 9.5 | |
1.8 |
Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
7.8 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.4 | |
1.4 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
18 |
Embodied Water, L/kg | 1170 | |
46 |
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 21 to 26 | |
83 to 100 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 110 to 520 | |
270 to 790 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
13 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
24 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 23 to 32 | |
21 to 23 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 30 to 38 | |
20 to 21 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 65 | |
14 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 10 to 14 | |
19 to 20 |
Alloy Composition
Aluminum (Al), % | 95 to 97.9 | |
0 |
Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
0.35 to 0.42 |
Chromium (Cr), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
0 |
Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
0 |
Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.5 | |
98.6 to 99.05 |
Magnesium (Mg), % | 0.7 to 1.2 | |
0 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0.5 to 1.0 | |
0.6 to 0.9 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.040 |
Silicon (Si), % | 0.9 to 1.3 | |
0 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.050 |
Titanium (Ti), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
0 |
Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
0 |
Zirconium (Zr), % | 0.050 to 0.2 | |
0 |
Residuals, % | 0 to 0.15 | |
0 |