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AS41A Magnesium vs. S21603 Stainless Steel

AS41A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while S21603 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 26 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (9, 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 AS41A magnesium and the bottom bar is S21603 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
200
Elongation at Break, % 11
45
Fatigue Strength, MPa 100
360
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
79
Shear Strength, MPa 130
490
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 230
690
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 140
390

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 110
990
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1420
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1380
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
480
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
17

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
17
Density, g/cm3 1.6
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
3.6
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
50
Embodied Water, L/kg 980
160

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 21
270
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220
380
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 72
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 50
22
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 3.5 to 5.0
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0
17.5 to 22
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.060
0
Iron (Fe), % 0
57.6 to 67.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 92.8 to 95.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
7.5 to 9.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
2.0 to 3.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.030
5.0 to 7.0
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.25 to 0.5
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.045
Silicon (Si), % 0.5 to 1.5
0 to 0.75
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.12
0