8090 (AlLi2.5Cu1.5Mg1) Aluminum
8090 aluminum is an otherwise-unclassified alloy of aluminum. 8090 is the Aluminum Association (AA) designation for this material. In European standards, it will be given as EN AW-8090. Additionally, the EN chemical designation is AlLi2,5Cu1,5Mg1. And the UNS number is A98090.
It has been in use since 1980, but has only received its standard designation in 1984.
It has the lowest electrical conductivity among otherwise unclassified aluminums. In addition, it can have the highest tensile strength and the lowest thermal conductivity.
The properties of 8090 aluminum include eight 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 8090 aluminum to: otherwise unclassified aluminums (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
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
67 GPa 9.8 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
3.5 to 13 %
Fatigue Strength
91 to 140 MPa 13 to 21 x 103 psi
Fracture Toughness
23 to 130 MPa-m1/2 20 to 110 x 103 psi-in1/2
Poisson's Ratio
0.33
Shear Modulus
25 GPa 3.7 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
340 to 490 MPa 49 to 70 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
210 to 420 MPa 31 to 61 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
400 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
190 °C 380 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
660 °C 1210 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
600 °C 1110 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
960 J/kg-K 0.23 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
95 to 160 W/m-K 55 to 91 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
24 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
20 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
66 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
18 % relative
Density
2.7 g/cm3 170 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
8.6 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
170 MJ/kg 72 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
1160 L/kg 140 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
16 to 41 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
340 to 1330 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
50 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
34 to 49 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
39 to 50 points
Thermal Diffusivity
36 to 60 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
15 to 22 points
Alloy Composition
| Al | 93 to 98.4 | |
| Li | 2.2 to 2.7 | |
| Cu | 1.0 to 1.6 | |
| Mg | 0.6 to 1.3 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.3 | |
| Zn | 0 to 0.25 | |
| Si | 0 to 0.2 | |
| Zr | 0.040 to 0.16 | |
| Mn | 0 to 0.1 | |
| Cr | 0 to 0.1 | |
| Ti | 0 to 0.1 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.15 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
Aluminum-Lithium Alloys: Processing, Properties, and Applications, N. Eswara Prasad et al. (editors), 2013
Environmental Degradation of Advanced and Traditional Engineering Materials, Lloyd H. Hihara et al., 2014.
EN 573-3: Aluminium and aluminium alloys. Chemical composition and form of wrought products. Chemical composition and form of products
Properties and Selection: Nonferrous Alloys and Special-Purpose Materials, ASM Handbook vol. 2, ASM International, 1993