SAE-AISI 1151 Steel vs. ZK61A Magnesium
SAE-AISI 1151 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while ZK61A 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 SAE-AISI 1151 steel and the bottom bar is ZK61A magnesium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 46 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 11 to 17 | |
| 5.8 to 7.1 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 260 to 410 | |
| 120 to 140 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 72 | |
| 18 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 430 to 480 | |
| 170 to 180 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 710 to 800 | |
| 290 to 310 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 390 to 660 | |
| 180 to 200 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 330 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 400 | |
| 120 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 640 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 530 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 960 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 51 | |
| 120 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 27 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 10 | |
| 29 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 12 | |
| 130 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 1.8 | |
| 13 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 1.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.4 | |
| 23 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 18 | |
| 160 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 46 | |
| 940 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 86 to 100 | |
| 15 to 19 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 400 to 1170 | |
| 370 to 420 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 62 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 25 to 28 | |
| 42 to 45 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 to 24 | |
| 50 to 53 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 14 | |
| 65 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 22 to 25 | |
| 17 to 18 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.48 to 0.55 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 98.3 to 98.7 | |
| 0 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 0 | |
| 92.1 to 93.9 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.7 to 1.0 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0.080 to 0.13 | |
| 0 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 | |
| 5.5 to 6.5 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 0 | |
| 0.6 to 1.0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |