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SAE-AISI 1040 Steel vs. ZE41A Magnesium

SAE-AISI 1040 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while ZE41A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 SAE-AISI 1040 steel and the bottom bar is ZE41A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 160 to 180
63
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
45
Elongation at Break, % 13 to 20
3.3
Fatigue Strength, MPa 220 to 340
98
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
18
Shear Strength, MPa 350 to 390
150
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 570 to 640
210
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 320 to 530
140

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
330
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 400
150
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
540
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
970
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 51
110
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 12
27

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.0
27
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.0
130

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 1.8
18
Density, g/cm3 7.8
1.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.4
24
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 18
170
Embodied Water, L/kg 46
940

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 79 to 96
6.1
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 270 to 760
220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
63
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 20 to 23
31
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 19 to 21
41
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 14
59
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 18 to 20
12

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0.37 to 0.44
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.1
Iron (Fe), % 98.6 to 99.03
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
91.7 to 95.4
Manganese (Mn), % 0.6 to 0.9
0 to 0.15
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.010
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.050
0
Unspecified Rare Earths, % 0
0.75 to 1.8
Zinc (Zn), % 0
3.5 to 5.0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0
0.4 to 1.0
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.3