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ASTM A36 Carbon Steel vs. 6463 Aluminum

ASTM A36 carbon steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 6463 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. 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 A36 carbon steel and the bottom bar is 6463 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 140
42 to 74
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
68
Elongation at Break, % 22
9.0 to 17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 200
45 to 76
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
26
Shear Strength, MPa 300
86 to 150
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 480
140 to 230
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 290
82 to 200

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
400
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 400
160
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
660
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
620
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 50
190 to 210
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 11
23

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 12
50 to 55
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 14
170 to 180

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 1.8
9.5
Density, g/cm3 7.9
2.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.4
8.3
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 18
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 44
1190

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 92
17 to 25
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220
50 to 300
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
50
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17
14 to 24
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 17
22 to 31
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 14
79 to 86
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 16
6.3 to 10

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
97.9 to 99.4
Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.26
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.2
Iron (Fe), % 99.25 to 100
0 to 0.15
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
0.45 to 0.9
Manganese (Mn), % 0
0 to 0.050
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0.2 to 0.6
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.050
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.050
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15