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AZ91B Magnesium vs. S38815 Stainless Steel

AZ91B magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while S38815 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 27 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (8, 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 AZ91B magnesium and the bottom bar is S38815 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 63
190
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 46
190
Elongation at Break, % 5.0
34
Fatigue Strength, MPa 79
230
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
74
Shear Strength, MPa 140
410
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 240
610
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 160
290

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 360
370
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 130
860
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 600
1360
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 470
1310
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 990
500
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
15

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
19
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.5
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 22
3.8
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
54
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
140

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 11
170
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 280
220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 69
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
22
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 49
21
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
15

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 8.3 to 9.7
0 to 0.3
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0
13 to 15
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.35
0.75 to 1.5
Iron (Fe), % 0
56.1 to 67
Magnesium (Mg), % 87.9 to 91.2
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.13 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 to 0.5
5.5 to 6.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.020
Zinc (Zn), % 0.35 to 1.0
0