6061 Aluminum vs. Alumina
6061 aluminum and alumina belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. 6061 aluminum is a metal, while alumina is a ceramic material. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 15 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (27, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is 6061 aluminum and the bottom bar is alumina.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 69 | |
| 220 to 370 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.22 to 0.24 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 130 to 410 | |
| 210 to 290 |
Thermal Properties
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 170 | |
| 650 to 1730 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 580 | |
| 2040 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 870 to 940 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 170 | |
| 14 to 30 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 24 | |
| 6.7 to 8.2 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
| 3.4 to 4.1 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 35 to 53 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 57 to 62 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 13 to 42 | |
| 14 to 23 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 21 to 45 | |
| 19 to 28 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 68 | |
| 3.7 to 10 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 5.7 to 18 | |
| 4.9 to 14 |