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SAE-AISI 4150 Steel vs. Balsa

SAE-AISI 4150 steel and balsa belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. SAE-AISI 4150 steel is a metal, while balsa is a polymeric material. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 14 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (19, 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 SAE-AISI 4150 steel and the bottom bar is balsa.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
3.0
Elongation at Break, % 12 to 20
1.2
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.38
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
0.23
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 660 to 1310
14

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
1700
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 42
0.1
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
6.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 7.8
0.13

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 24 to 47
30
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 22 to 34
99
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 11
0.45
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 19 to 39
51