SAE-AISI 4161 Steel vs. SAE-AISI L2 Steel
Both SAE-AISI 4161 steel and SAE-AISI L2 steel are iron alloys. Their average alloy composition is basically identical. There are 23 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (8, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI 4161 steel and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI L2 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 190 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 72 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 680 | |
| 590 to 1960 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 250 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 1450 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1410 | |
| 1410 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 43 | |
| 44 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 12 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.3 | |
| 7.3 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.4 | |
| 8.4 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 2.5 | |
| 2.4 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.5 | |
| 1.9 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 20 | |
| 27 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 50 | |
| 51 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 24 | |
| 21 to 70 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 | |
| 20 to 45 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 12 | |
| 12 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 22 | |
| 19 to 65 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.56 to 0.64 | |
| 0.45 to 1.0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0.7 to 0.9 | |
| 0.7 to 1.2 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.25 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 96.7 to 97.6 | |
| 95.5 to 98.7 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.75 to 1.0 | |
| 0.1 to 0.9 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.25 to 0.35 | |
| 0 to 0.25 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.035 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Vanadium (V), % | 0 | |
| 0.1 to 0.3 |