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AS41A Magnesium vs. S45503 Stainless Steel

AS41A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while S45503 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 25 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (10, 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 S45503 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
190
Elongation at Break, % 11
4.6 to 6.8
Fatigue Strength, MPa 100
710 to 800
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
75
Shear Strength, MPa 130
940 to 1070
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 230
1610 to 1850
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 140
1430 to 1700

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
270
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 110
760
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1440
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
470
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
11

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
15
Density, g/cm3 1.6
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
3.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
48
Embodied Water, L/kg 980
120

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 21
82 to 110
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 72
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
57 to 65
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 50
39 to 43
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
56 to 64

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 3.5 to 5.0
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.010
Chromium (Cr), % 0
11 to 12.5
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.060
1.5 to 2.5
Iron (Fe), % 0
72.4 to 78.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 92.8 to 95.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
0 to 0.5
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.030
7.5 to 9.5
Niobium (Nb), % 0
0.1 to 0.5
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.010
Silicon (Si), % 0.5 to 1.5
0 to 0.2
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.010
Titanium (Ti), % 0
1.0 to 1.4
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.12
0