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6063 (AlMg0.7Si, H9, A96063) Aluminum

6063 aluminum is a 6000-series aluminum alloy: there is significant alloying with both magnesium and silicon, and the alloy is formulated for primary forming into wrought products. 6063 is the Aluminum Association (AA) designation for this material. In European standards, it will be given as EN AW-6063. H9 is the British Standard (BS) designation. A96063 is the UNS number. Additionally, the EN chemical designation is AlMg0,7Si. Older literature may refer to this material as CSA GS10, but this is now discouraged.

It has been in use since 1944, but has only received its standard designation in 1954. This material is well established: the Further Reading section below cites a number of published standards, and that list is not necessarily exhaustive.

It can have the lowest tensile strength among the 6000-series alloys in the database.

The properties of 6063 aluminum include thirteen common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare 6063 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

25 to 95

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus

68 GPa 9.9 x 106 psi

Elongation at Break

7.3 to 21 %

Fatigue Strength

39 to 95 MPa 5.6 to 14 x 103 psi

Poisson's Ratio

0.33

Shear Modulus

26 GPa 3.7 x 106 psi

Shear Strength

70 to 190 MPa 10 to 27 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)

110 to 300 MPa 15 to 44 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)

49 to 270 MPa 7.2 to 39 x 103 psi

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion

400 J/g

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical

160 °C 320 °F

Melting Completion (Liquidus)

650 °C 1210 °F

Melting Onset (Solidus)

620 °C 1140 °F

Specific Heat Capacity

900 J/kg-K 0.22 BTU/lb-°F

Thermal Conductivity

190 to 220 W/m-K 110 to 130 BTU/h-ft-°F

Thermal Expansion

23 µm/m-K

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume

49 to 58 % IACS

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)

160 to 190 % 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

1190 L/kg 140 gal/lb

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)

13 to 27 MJ/m3

Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)

18 to 540 kJ/m3

Stiffness to Weight: Axial

14 points

Stiffness to Weight: Bending

50 points

Strength to Weight: Axial

11 to 31 points

Strength to Weight: Bending

18 to 37 points

Thermal Diffusivity

79 to 89 mm2/s

Thermal Shock Resistance

4.8 to 13 points

Alloy Composition

Among wrought aluminum alloys, the composition of 6063 aluminum is notable for containing comparatively high amounts of magnesium (Mg) and silicon (Si). Magnesium promotes hardenability through both heat treatment and strain hardening mechanisms. It also increases susceptibility to intergranular corrosion. Silicon is used to increase strength at the expense of ductility. It also lowers the melting temperature and raises the fluidity of the alloy.

Aluminum (Al)Al 97.5 to 99.4
Magnesium (Mg)Mg 0.45 to 0.9
Silicon (Si)Si 0.2 to 0.6
Iron (Fe)Fe 0 to 0.35
Manganese (Mn)Mn 0 to 0.1
Chromium (Cr)Cr 0 to 0.1
Titanium (Ti)Ti 0 to 0.1
Zinc (Zn)Zn 0 to 0.1
Copper (Cu)Cu 0 to 0.1
Residualsres. 0 to 0.15

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

Followup Questions

Similar Alloys

Further Reading

ASTM B491: Standard Specification for Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Extruded Round Tubes for General-Purpose Applications

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

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

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

EN 755-2: Aluminium and aluminium alloys. Extruded rod/bar, tube and profiles. Mechanical properties

Aluminum Standards and Data, Aluminum Association Inc., 2013

ASM Specialty Handbook: Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys, J. R. Davis (editor), 1993