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6351 Aluminum vs. AISI 431 Stainless Steel

6351 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AISI 431 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 6351 aluminum and the bottom bar is AISI 431 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 69
200
Elongation at Break, % 7.8 to 18
15 to 17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 79 to 130
430 to 610
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
77
Shear Strength, MPa 84 to 200
550 to 840
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 140 to 310
890 to 1380
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 95 to 270
710 to 1040

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 410
280
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 160
850
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 650
1510
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1450
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 180
26
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 46
2.6
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 150
3.0

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
9.0
Density, g/cm3 2.7
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.3
2.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
31
Embodied Water, L/kg 1180
120

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 20 to 38
140 to 180
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 65 to 540
1270 to 2770
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 50
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 14 to 32
32 to 50
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 22 to 38
27 to 36
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 72
7.0
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 6.1 to 14
28 to 43

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 96 to 98.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.2
Chromium (Cr), % 0
15 to 17
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.5
78.2 to 83.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.4 to 0.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.4 to 0.8
0 to 1.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
1.3 to 2.5
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0.7 to 1.3
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0