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6061-T6 Aluminum vs. SAE-AISI 1018 Steel

6061-T6 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1018 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, 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-T6 aluminum and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1018 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 93
130 to 140
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
190
Elongation at Break, % 10
17 to 27
Fatigue Strength, MPa 96
180 to 270
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 210
280 to 300
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 310
430 to 480
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270
240 to 400

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 580
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 170
52
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 24
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 43
7.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
8.0

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
1.8
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
46

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 30
75 to 100
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 520
150 to 430
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 31
15 to 17
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 37
16 to 17
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 68
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
14 to 15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 95.9 to 98.6
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.15 to 0.2
Chromium (Cr), % 0.040 to 0.35
0
Copper (Cu), % 0.15 to 0.4
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
98.8 to 99.25
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.8 to 1.2
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.15
0.6 to 0.9
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0.4 to 0.8
0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.15
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0