SAE-AISI 4340 Steel vs. WE43A Magnesium
SAE-AISI 4340 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while WE43A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, 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 4340 steel and the bottom bar is WE43A magnesium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 44 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 12 to 22 | |
| 5.2 to 5.4 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 330 to 740 | |
| 85 to 120 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 17 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 430 to 770 | |
| 160 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 690 to 1280 | |
| 250 to 270 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 470 to 1150 | |
| 160 to 170 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 330 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 430 | |
| 180 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 640 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 570 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 960 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 44 | |
| 51 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 27 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.5 | |
| 12 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.6 | |
| 55 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 3.5 | |
| 34 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 1.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.7 | |
| 28 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 22 | |
| 250 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 53 | |
| 910 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 79 to 170 | |
| 12 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 590 to 3490 | |
| 280 to 310 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 61 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 24 to 45 | |
| 36 to 39 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 to 33 | |
| 46 to 48 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 12 | |
| 28 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 20 to 38 | |
| 15 to 16 |
Alloy Composition
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| Carbon (C), % | 0.38 to 0.43 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0.7 to 0.9 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 95.1 to 96.3 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Lithium (Li), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 0 | |
| 89.5 to 93.5 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.6 to 0.8 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.2 to 0.3 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 1.7 to 2.0 | |
| 0 to 0.0050 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.035 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 |
| Unspecified Rare Earths, % | 0 | |
| 2.4 to 4.4 |
| Yttrium (Y), % | 0 | |
| 3.7 to 4.3 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 0 | |
| 0.4 to 1.0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |