SAE-AISI 4150 Steel vs. ZE63A Magnesium
SAE-AISI 4150 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while ZE63A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 31 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 4150 steel and the bottom bar is ZE63A magnesium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness | 200 to 380 | |
73 |
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
46 |
Elongation at Break, % | 12 to 20 | |
7.7 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 260 to 780 | |
120 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
0.29 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
17 |
Shear Strength, MPa | 410 to 800 | |
170 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 660 to 1310 | |
300 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 380 to 1220 | |
190 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
330 |
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 420 | |
170 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
510 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
390 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
950 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 42 | |
110 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
27 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.3 | |
31 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.4 | |
140 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 2.4 | |
22 |
Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
2.0 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.5 | |
24 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 20 | |
180 |
Embodied Water, L/kg | 51 | |
920 |
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 82 to 180 | |
20 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 380 to 3930 | |
400 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
12 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
58 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 24 to 47 | |
40 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 to 34 | |
48 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 11 | |
57 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 19 to 39 | |
17 |
Alloy Composition
Carbon (C), % | 0.48 to 0.53 | |
0 |
Chromium (Cr), % | 0.8 to 1.1 | |
0 |
Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.1 |
Iron (Fe), % | 96.7 to 97.7 | |
0 |
Magnesium (Mg), % | 0 | |
89.6 to 92 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0.75 to 1.0 | |
0 |
Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.15 to 0.25 | |
0 |
Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.010 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.035 | |
0 |
Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
0 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
0 |
Unspecified Rare Earths, % | 0 | |
2.1 to 3.0 |
Zinc (Zn), % | 0 | |
5.5 to 6.0 |
Zirconium (Zr), % | 0 | |
0.4 to 1.0 |
Residuals, % | 0 | |
0 to 0.3 |