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ASTM A387 Grade 12 Steel vs. 6162 Aluminum

ASTM A387 grade 12 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 6162 aluminum belongs to the aluminum 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 ASTM A387 grade 12 steel and the bottom bar is 6162 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
68
Elongation at Break, % 25
6.7 to 9.1
Fatigue Strength, MPa 190 to 230
100 to 130
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
26
Shear Strength, MPa 300 to 330
170 to 180
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 470 to 520
290 to 300
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 260 to 310
260 to 270

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
400
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 430
160
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1470
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
620
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
900
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 44
190
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
23

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.2
50
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.3
170

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

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

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 98 to 110
19 to 26
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 180 to 250
510 to 550
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
50
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 16 to 18
29 to 30
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 17 to 18
36
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 12
79
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14 to 15
13

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
96.7 to 98.9
Carbon (C), % 0.050 to 0.17
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0.8 to 1.2
0 to 0.1
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.2
Iron (Fe), % 97 to 98.2
0 to 0.5
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
0.7 to 1.1
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 0.65
0 to 0.1
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0.45 to 0.6
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.025
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.15 to 0.4
0.4 to 0.8
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.025
0
Titanium (Ti), % 0
0 to 0.1
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.25
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15