356.0-T6 Cast Aluminum
356.0-T6 aluminum is 356.0 aluminum in the T6 temper. To achieve this temper, the metal is solution heat-treated and artificially aged until it meets standard mechanical property requirements. It has the highest strength compared to the other variants of 356.0 aluminum.
The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare 356.0-T6 aluminum to: ANSI/AA cast aluminums (top), all aluminum alloys (middle), and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness
75
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
70 GPa 10 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
3.8 %
Fatigue Strength
75 MPa 11 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.33
Shear Modulus
27 GPa 3.8 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
190 MPa 28 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
240 MPa 35 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
170 MPa 24 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
500 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
170 °C 340 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
620 °C 1140 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
570 °C 1050 °F
Solidification (Pattern Maker's) Shrinkage
1.3 %
Specific Heat Capacity
900 J/kg-K 0.22 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
150 W/m-K 88 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
21 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
40 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
140 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
9.5 % relative
Calomel Potential
-730 mV
Density
2.6 g/cm3 160 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
8.0 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
150 MJ/kg 64 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
1110 L/kg 130 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
8.2 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
190 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
15 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
53 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
26 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
33 points
Thermal Diffusivity
64 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
11 points
Alloy Composition
| Al | 90.1 to 93.3 | |
| Si | 6.5 to 7.5 | |
| Mg | 0.2 to 0.45 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.6 | |
| Mn | 0 to 0.35 | |
| Zn | 0 to 0.35 | |
| Ti | 0 to 0.25 | |
| Cu | 0 to 0.25 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.15 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM B618: Standard Specification for Aluminum-Alloy Investment Castings
ASTM B108: Standard Specification for Aluminum-Alloy Permanent Mold Castings
ASTM B26: Standard Specification for Aluminum-Alloy Sand Castings
Advanced Materials in Automotive Engineering, Jason Rowe (editor), 2012
ASM Specialty Handbook: Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys, J. R. Davis (editor), 1993
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015