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6065 Aluminum vs. ASTM A232 Spring Steel

6065 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while ASTM A232 spring steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 6065 aluminum and the bottom bar is ASTM A232 spring steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 68
190
Elongation at Break, % 4.5 to 11
14
Fatigue Strength, MPa 96 to 110
1040
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Shear Strength, MPa 190 to 230
1090
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 310 to 400
1790
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 270 to 380
1610

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 400
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
420
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 590
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 890
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 170
52
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 43
7.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
8.4

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 11
2.3
Density, g/cm3 2.8
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.4
2.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
28
Embodied Water, L/kg 1200
51

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 17 to 34
250
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 49
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 31 to 40
64
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 36 to 43
42
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 67
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14 to 18
53

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 94.4 to 98.2
0
Bismuth (Bi), % 0.5 to 1.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.48 to 0.53
Chromium (Cr), % 0 to 0.15
0.8 to 1.1
Copper (Cu), % 0.15 to 0.4
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.7
96.8 to 97.7
Lead (Pb), % 0 to 0.050
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.8 to 1.2
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.15
0.7 to 0.9
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.020
Silicon (Si), % 0.4 to 0.8
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.035
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.1
0
Vanadium (V), % 0
0.15 to 0.3
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.25
0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0 to 0.15
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0