Drawing No. EH–MT–005 // Engineering Materials
Aluminium Alloy Properties
Reviewed August 2026
6061-T6 is used as the representative aluminium alloy because it is widely used in structural, transportation and machine components. The T6 temper is essential to the quoted strength values.
Representative properties
Switch units without changing the underlying material reference.
What changes these properties?
Engineering variability
- Yield and tensile strengths are tied to temper, product thickness and specification.
- Elastic modulus is far less temper-sensitive than strength.
- Thermal conductivity varies by alloy and temper; pure aluminium is substantially more conductive.
- The high thermal-expansion coefficient matters in mixed-material assemblies.
Selection note
Attractive where low mass, machinability, corrosion resistance and moderate strength are important. Fatigue, joining, galvanic compatibility and elevated-temperature strength should be checked separately.
Do not combine strength from one grade/condition with modulus, thermal data or temperature limits from another without checking compatibility. Where the overview shows a range, it is intended to expose variability—not establish allowable bounds.
Property interpretation
Stiffness vs strength
Young’s modulus controls elastic deformation. Yield or fracture strength controls how far the material can be stressed. These are separate material characteristics.
Thermal response
Thermal conductivity controls temperature gradients, specific heat contributes to thermal inertia, and expansion controls thermally induced strain when movement is restrained.
Temperature transition
The final property card is deliberately labeled “melting / transition.” Metals often have a solidus–liquidus range; amorphous polymers and glass use softening or glass-transition concepts; concrete and wood decompose instead of exhibiting one clean melt point.
Technical sources
Source hierarchy favors manufacturers, industry associations, standards bodies and government engineering references. Strength data must still be reconciled with the exact procurement specification.