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AZ81A Magnesium vs. S41045 Stainless Steel

AZ81A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while S41045 stainless steel belongs to the iron 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 AZ81A magnesium and the bottom bar is S41045 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 55
160
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 46
190
Elongation at Break, % 3.0 to 8.8
25
Fatigue Strength, MPa 78 to 80
160
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
76
Shear Strength, MPa 91 to 130
280
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 160 to 240
430
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 84
230

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
270
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 130
740
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 600
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 500
1400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 990
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 84
29
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 27
10

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 12
2.9
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 65
3.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
8.5
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
2.2
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
31
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
100

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 4.0 to 17
92
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 77 to 78
140
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 70
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 26 to 39
16
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 38 to 50
16
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 50
7.8
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 9.1 to 14
16

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 7.0 to 8.1
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0
12 to 13
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0
83.8 to 88
Magnesium (Mg), % 89.8 to 92.5
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.13 to 0.35
0 to 1.0
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.010
0 to 0.5
Niobium (Nb), % 0
0 to 0.6
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0 to 0.030
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.3
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Zinc (Zn), % 0.4 to 1.0
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.3
0