ASTM A302 Alloy Steel vs. 6012 Aluminum
ASTM A302 alloy steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 6012 aluminum belongs to the aluminum 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 ASTM A302 alloy steel and the bottom bar is 6012 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 69 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 20 to 23 | |
| 9.1 to 11 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 250 to 280 | |
| 55 to 100 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.33 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 26 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 370 to 390 | |
| 130 to 190 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 590 to 620 | |
| 220 to 320 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 350 to 390 | |
| 110 to 260 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 400 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 410 | |
| 170 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 640 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 570 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 890 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 39 to 51 | |
| 160 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 23 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.2 to 7.4 | |
| 45 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.2 to 8.4 | |
| 140 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 2.4 to 3.0 | |
| 9.5 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 to 7.9 | |
| 2.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.5 to 1.6 | |
| 8.2 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 20 to 21 | |
| 150 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 48 to 50 | |
| 1170 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 110 to 120 | |
| 21 to 28 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 330 to 410 | |
| 94 to 480 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 48 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 21 to 22 | |
| 22 to 32 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 20 to 21 | |
| 29 to 37 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 10 to 14 | |
| 62 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 17 to 18 | |
| 10 to 14 |