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AISI 316L Stainless Steel vs. ZC63A Magnesium

AISI 316L stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while ZC63A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 31 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 AISI 316L stainless steel and the bottom bar is ZC63A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 170 to 350
60
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 200
48
Elongation at Break, % 9.0 to 50
3.3
Fatigue Strength, MPa 170 to 450
94
Poisson's Ratio 0.28
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 78
19
Shear Strength, MPa 370 to 690
130
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 530 to 1160
220
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 190 to 870
130

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 290
330
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 870
98
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1400
550
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1380
470
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
950
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 15
120
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 16
26

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 2.3
32
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 2.6
140

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 19
13
Density, g/cm3 7.9
2.1
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 3.9
22
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 53
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 150
920

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 77 to 230
6.3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 93 to 1880
190
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 25
58
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 19 to 41
29
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 18 to 31
38
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 4.1
58
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 12 to 25
12

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.030
0
Chromium (Cr), % 16 to 18
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
2.4 to 3.0
Iron (Fe), % 62 to 72
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
89.2 to 91.9
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 2.0
0.25 to 0.75
Molybdenum (Mo), % 2.0 to 3.0
0
Nickel (Ni), % 10 to 14
0 to 0.010
Nitrogen (N), % 0 to 0.1
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.045
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.75
0 to 0.2
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0
5.5 to 6.5
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.3