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WE43B Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI 6150 Steel

WE43B magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 6150 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 6150 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 44
190
Elongation at Break, % 2.2
15 to 23
Fatigue Strength, MPa 110
300 to 750
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
73
Shear Strength, MPa 140
400 to 730
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 250
630 to 1200
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 200
420 to 1160

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
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 960
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 51
46
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 27
12 to 13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 11
7.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 53
8.4

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 34
2.3
Density, g/cm3 1.9
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 28
2.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 250
28
Embodied Water, L/kg 910
51

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 5.2
130 to 180
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 430
460 to 3590
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 61
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 36
22 to 43
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 46
21 to 32
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 28
13
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15
20 to 38

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0
0.48 to 0.53
Chromium (Cr), % 0
0.8 to 1.1
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.020
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.010
96.7 to 97.7
Lithium (Li), % 0 to 0.2
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 89.8 to 93.5
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.030
0.7 to 0.9
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
Vanadium (V), % 0
0.15 to 0.3
Yttrium (Y), % 3.7 to 4.3
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0.4 to 1.0
0