MakeItFrom.com
Menu (ESC)

238.0 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI L6 Steel

238.0 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI L6 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 23 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (6, 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 238.0 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI L6 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 76
190
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 28
72
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210
670 to 2090

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 430
250
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 600
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 510
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 840
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 100
42
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 21
11

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 25
7.6
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 67
8.7

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
3.6
Density, g/cm3 3.4
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 7.4
2.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 140
28
Embodied Water, L/kg 1040
54

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 12
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 42
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17
24 to 74
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 23
22 to 46
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 37
11
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 9.1
22 to 70

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 81.9 to 84.9
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.65 to 0.75
Chromium (Cr), % 0
0.6 to 1.2
Copper (Cu), % 9.5 to 10.5
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 1.0 to 1.5
93.6 to 97.3
Magnesium (Mg), % 0 to 0.25
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0
0.25 to 0.8
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0
1.3 to 2.0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 3.6 to 4.4
0 to 0.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Vanadium (V), % 0
0 to 0.3
Zinc (Zn), % 1.0 to 1.5
0