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WE43B Magnesium vs. S32906 Stainless Steel

WE43B magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while S32906 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (5, 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 S32906 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 44
210
Elongation at Break, % 2.2
28
Fatigue Strength, MPa 110
460
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.27
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
81
Shear Strength, MPa 140
550
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 250
850
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 200
620

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 330
300
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 180
1100
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 640
1430
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 550
1380
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 960
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 51
13
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 27
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 11
2.2
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 53
2.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 34
20
Density, g/cm3 1.9
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 28
3.7
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 250
52
Embodied Water, L/kg 910
190

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 5.2
220
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 430
950
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
15
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 61
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 36
30
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 46
26
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 28
3.6
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 15
23

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0
28 to 30
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.020
0 to 0.8
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.010
56.6 to 63.6
Lithium (Li), % 0 to 0.2
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 89.8 to 93.5
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.030
0.8 to 1.5
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
1.5 to 2.6
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.0050
5.8 to 7.5
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.3 to 0.4
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0
0 to 0.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
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