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6061-T6 Aluminum

6061-T6 aluminum is 6061 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. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare 6061-T6 aluminum to: 6000-series alloys (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

93

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus

69 GPa 10 x 106 psi

Elongation at Break

10 %

Fatigue Strength

96 MPa 14 x 103 psi

Poisson's Ratio

0.33

Shear Modulus

26 GPa 3.8 x 106 psi

Shear Strength

210 MPa 30 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)

310 MPa 45 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)

270 MPa 39 x 103 psi

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion

400 J/g

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical

170 °C 330 °F

Melting Completion (Liquidus)

650 °C 1190 °F

Melting Onset (Solidus)

580 °C 1080 °F

Specific Heat Capacity

900 J/kg-K 0.21 BTU/lb-°F

Thermal Conductivity

170 W/m-K 97 BTU/h-ft-°F

Thermal Expansion

24 µm/m-K

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume

43 % IACS

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)

140 % IACS

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price

9.5 % relative

Calomel Potential

-740 mV

Density

2.7 g/cm3 170 lb/ft3

Embodied Carbon

8.3 kg CO2/kg material

Embodied Energy

150 MJ/kg 66 x 103 BTU/lb

Embodied Water

1180 L/kg 140 gal/lb

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)

30 MJ/m3

Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)

520 kJ/m3

Stiffness to Weight: Axial

14 points

Stiffness to Weight: Bending

50 points

Strength to Weight: Axial

31 points

Strength to Weight: Bending

37 points

Thermal Diffusivity

68 mm2/s

Thermal Shock Resistance

14 points

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al)Al 95.9 to 98.6
Magnesium (Mg)Mg 0.8 to 1.2
Silicon (Si)Si 0.4 to 0.8
Iron (Fe)Fe 0 to 0.7
Copper (Cu)Cu 0.15 to 0.4
Chromium (Cr)Cr 0.040 to 0.35
Zinc (Zn)Zn 0 to 0.25
Manganese (Mn)Mn 0 to 0.15
Titanium (Ti)Ti 0 to 0.15
Residualsres. 0 to 0.15

All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.

Followup Questions

Further Reading

ASTM B308: Standard Specification for Aluminum-Alloy 6061-T6 Standard Structural Profiles

ASTM B247: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Die Forgings, Hand Forgings, and Rolled Ring Forgings

ASTM B483: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Drawn Tube and Pipe for General Purpose Applications

ASTM B211: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Bar, Rod, and Wire

ASTM B210: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Drawn Seamless Tubes

ASTM B547: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Formed and Arc-Welded Round Tube

ASTM B221: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Extruded Bars, Rods, Wire, Profiles, and Tubes

Environmental Degradation of Advanced and Traditional Engineering Materials, Lloyd H. Hihara et al., 2014.

EN 754-2: Aluminium and aluminium alloys. Cold drawn rod/bar and tube. Mechanical properties

Advanced Materials in Automotive Engineering, Jason Rowe (editor), 2012