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SAE-AISI 4340 Steel vs. ZE41A Magnesium

SAE-AISI 4340 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 (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 4340 steel and the bottom bar is ZE41A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 210 to 360
63
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
45
Elongation at Break, % 12 to 22
3.3
Fatigue Strength, MPa 330 to 740
98
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
18
Shear Strength, MPa 430 to 770
150
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 690 to 1280
210
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 470 to 1150
140

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
330
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 430
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 44
110
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
27

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.5
27
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.6
130

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 3.5
18
Density, g/cm3 7.8
1.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.7
24
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 22
170
Embodied Water, L/kg 53
940

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 79 to 170
6.1
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 590 to 3490
220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
63
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 24 to 45
31
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 22 to 33
41
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 12
59
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 20 to 38
12

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0.38 to 0.43
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0.7 to 0.9
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.1
Iron (Fe), % 95.1 to 96.3
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
91.7 to 95.4
Manganese (Mn), % 0.6 to 0.8
0 to 0.15
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0.2 to 0.3
0
Nickel (Ni), % 1.7 to 2.0
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
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