SAE-AISI 4340 Steel vs. Automotive Malleable Cast Iron
Both SAE-AISI 4340 steel and automotive malleable cast iron are iron alloys. They have a very high 97% of their average alloy composition in common. There are 28 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI 4340 steel and the bottom bar is automotive malleable cast iron.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 210 to 360 | |
| 130 to 290 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 180 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 12 to 22 | |
| 1.0 to 10 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 73 | |
| 70 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 690 to 1280 | |
| 350 to 720 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 470 to 1150 | |
| 220 to 590 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 260 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1460 | |
| 1410 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1420 | |
| 1370 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 480 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 44 | |
| 41 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 14 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.5 | |
| 7.4 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.6 | |
| 8.7 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 3.5 | |
| 1.9 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.6 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.7 | |
| 1.5 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 22 | |
| 20 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 53 | |
| 45 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 79 to 170 | |
| 6.8 to 30 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 590 to 3490 | |
| 130 to 950 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 24 to 45 | |
| 13 to 26 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 22 to 33 | |
| 14 to 24 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 12 | |
| 11 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 20 to 38 | |
| 9.9 to 21 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.38 to 0.43 | |
| 2.2 to 2.9 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0.7 to 0.9 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 95.1 to 96.3 | |
| 93.6 to 96.7 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.6 to 0.8 | |
| 0.15 to 1.3 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0.2 to 0.3 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 1.7 to 2.0 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.035 | |
| 0.020 to 0.15 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| 0.9 to 1.9 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.040 | |
| 0.020 to 0.2 |