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WE43B Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI 5135 Steel

WE43B magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 5135 steel belongs to the iron 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 WE43B magnesium and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 5135 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 44
190
Elongation at Break, % 2.2
22
Fatigue Strength, MPa 110
240
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
73
Shear Strength, MPa 140
320
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 250
510
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 200
340

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 330
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
420
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 550
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 960
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 51
45
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 27
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 11
7.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 53
8.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 34
2.2
Density, g/cm3 1.9
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 28
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 250
19
Embodied Water, L/kg 910
50

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 5.2
100
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 430
300
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 61
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 36
18
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 46
18
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 28
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15
16

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0
0.33 to 0.38
Chromium (Cr), % 0
0.8 to 1.1
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.020
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.010
97.3 to 98.1
Lithium (Li), % 0 to 0.2
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 89.8 to 93.5
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.030
0.6 to 0.8
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.0050
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Unspecified Rare Earths, % 2.4 to 4.4
0
Yttrium (Y), % 3.7 to 4.3
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0.4 to 1.0
0