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ASTM A231 Spring Steel vs. WE54A Magnesium

ASTM A231 spring steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while WE54A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 ASTM A231 spring steel and the bottom bar is WE54A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 540
85
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
44
Elongation at Break, % 14
4.3 to 5.6
Fatigue Strength, MPa 1000
98 to 130
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
17
Shear Strength, MPa 1080
150 to 170
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 1790
270 to 300
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 1570
180

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
330
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 420
170
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1410
570
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
960
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 52
52
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
25

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.3
10
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.4
47

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 2.3
34
Density, g/cm3 7.8
1.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 2.0
29
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 28
260
Embodied Water, L/kg 51
900

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 230
10 to 14
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
62
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 64
39 to 43
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 42
49 to 51
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 14
28
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 53
18 to 19

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0.48 to 0.53
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0.8 to 1.1
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.030
Iron (Fe), % 96.7 to 97.7
0 to 0.010
Lithium (Li), % 0
0 to 0.2
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
88.7 to 93.4
Manganese (Mn), % 0.7 to 0.9
0 to 0.030
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.0050
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.15 to 0.35
0 to 0.010
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.040
0
Unspecified Rare Earths, % 0
1.5 to 4.0
Vanadium (V), % 0.15 to 0.3
0
Yttrium (Y), % 0
4.8 to 5.5
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.2
Zirconium (Zr), % 0
0.4 to 1.0
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.3