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AS41A Magnesium vs. S82121 Stainless Steel

AS41A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while S82121 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 S82121 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
200
Elongation at Break, % 11
28
Fatigue Strength, MPa 100
370
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.27
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
78
Shear Strength, MPa 130
470
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 230
730
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 140
510

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
290
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 110
1020
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1430
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1380
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 68
15
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 17
2.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 92
2.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
14
Density, g/cm3 1.6
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
2.8
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
40
Embodied Water, L/kg 980
150

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 21
180
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220
660
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 72
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
26
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 50
23
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 41
4.0
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
20

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 3.5 to 5.0
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.035
Chromium (Cr), % 0
21 to 23
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.060
0.2 to 1.2
Iron (Fe), % 0
66.7 to 75.4
Magnesium (Mg), % 92.8 to 95.8
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.2 to 0.5
1.0 to 2.5
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.3 to 1.3
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.030
2.0 to 4.0
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.15 to 0.25
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0.5 to 1.5
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.010
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.12
0