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AISI 321 Stainless Steel vs. AS41A Magnesium

AISI 321 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while AS41A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 AISI 321 stainless steel and the bottom bar is AS41A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 200
45
Elongation at Break, % 34 to 50
11
Fatigue Strength, MPa 220 to 270
100
Poisson's Ratio 0.28
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 77
17
Shear Strength, MPa 420 to 460
130
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 590 to 690
230
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 220 to 350
140

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 290
370
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 870
110
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1430
620
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1400
570
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 480
1000
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 16
68
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 17
26

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 2.4
17
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 2.7
92

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 16
12
Density, g/cm3 7.8
1.6
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 3.2
23
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 45
160
Embodied Water, L/kg 140
980

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 190 to 230
21
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 130 to 310
220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
15
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 25
72
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 21 to 25
38
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 20 to 22
50
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 4.1
41
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13 to 15
14

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
3.5 to 5.0
Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.080
0
Chromium (Cr), % 17 to 19
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.060
Iron (Fe), % 65.3 to 74
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
92.8 to 95.8
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 2.0
0.2 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni), % 9.0 to 12
0 to 0.030
Nitrogen (N), % 0 to 0.1
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.045
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.75
0.5 to 1.5
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.7
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.12