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6351 Aluminum vs. ASTM A387 Grade 12 Steel

6351 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A387 grade 12 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 6351 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A387 grade 12 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
190
Elongation at Break, % 7.8 to 18
25
Fatigue Strength, MPa 79 to 130
190 to 230
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 84 to 200
300 to 330
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 140 to 310
470 to 520
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 95 to 270
260 to 310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 410
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 160
430
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1470
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 180
44
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 46
7.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 150
8.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
2.8
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
1.6
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
21
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
51

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 20 to 38
98 to 110
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 65 to 540
180 to 250
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 14 to 32
16 to 18
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 22 to 38
17 to 18
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 72
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 6.1 to 14
14 to 15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 96 to 98.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.050 to 0.17
Chromium (Cr), % 0
0.8 to 1.2
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
97 to 98.2
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.4 to 0.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 0.8
0.4 to 0.65
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.45 to 0.6
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.025
Silicon (Si), % 0.7 to 1.3
0.15 to 0.4
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.025
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0

Comparable Variants