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AS41A Magnesium vs. S38815 Stainless Steel

AS41A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while S38815 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 26 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (7, 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 S38815 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
190
Elongation at Break, % 11
34
Fatigue Strength, MPa 100
230
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
74
Shear Strength, MPa 130
410
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 230
610
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 140
290

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
370
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 110
860
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1360
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1310
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
500
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
15

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
19
Density, g/cm3 1.6
7.5
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
3.8
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
54
Embodied Water, L/kg 980
140

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 21
170
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220
220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 72
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
22
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 50
21
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 3.5 to 5.0
0 to 0.3
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0
13 to 15
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.060
0.75 to 1.5
Iron (Fe), % 0
56.1 to 67
Magnesium (Mg), % 92.8 to 95.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
0 to 2.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.75 to 1.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.030
13 to 17
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0.5 to 1.5
5.5 to 6.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.020
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.12
0