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6261 Aluminum vs. S38100 Stainless Steel

6261 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while S38100 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 6261 aluminum and the bottom bar is S38100 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
200
Elongation at Break, % 9.0 to 16
45
Fatigue Strength, MPa 60 to 120
210
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
76
Shear Strength, MPa 90 to 180
400
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 150 to 300
580
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 100 to 260
230

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
320
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 160
970
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1400
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 610
1350
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 180
15
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
16

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 48
2.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 160
2.6

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
20
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
3.8
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
54
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
160

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 21 to 27
210
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 77 to 500
140
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 15 to 31
21
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 23 to 37
20
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 75
4.0
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 6.5 to 13
13

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 96.6 to 98.6
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.080
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.1
17 to 19
Copper (Cu), % 0.15 to 0.4
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.4
57.9 to 64
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.7 to 1.0
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.35
0 to 2.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
17.5 to 18.5
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0.4 to 0.7
1.5 to 2.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0