6061 Aluminum vs. PS
6061 aluminum and PS belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. 6061 aluminum is a metal, while PS is a polymeric 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 (26, 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 6061 aluminum and the bottom bar is PS.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 69 | |
| 1.9 to 2.9 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 3.4 to 20 | |
| 1.8 to 40 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.4 to 0.41 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 130 to 410 | |
| 32 to 44 |
Thermal Properties
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 170 | |
| 70 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 1250 to 1400 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 170 | |
| 0.14 to 0.22 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 24 | |
| 80 to 98 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
| 1.0 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 1.0 to 1.5 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 40 to 45 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 13 to 42 | |
| 8.5 to 12 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 21 to 45 | |
| 22 to 26 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 68 | |
| 0.11 to 0.15 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 5.7 to 18 | |
| 11 to 15 |