SAE-AISI L3 Steel vs. SAE-AISI L6 Steel
Both SAE-AISI L3 steel and SAE-AISI L6 steel are iron alloys. They have a very high 98% of their average alloy composition in common.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI L3 steel and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI L6 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 | 72 | |
| 72 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 600 to 2250 | |
| 670 to 2090 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 250 | |
| 250 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1450 | |
| 1450 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1410 | |
| 1410 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 43 | |
| 42 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 11 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 7.4 | |
| 7.6 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 8.5 | |
| 8.7 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 2.5 | |
| 3.6 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.8 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 1.9 | |
| 2.0 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 27 | |
| 28 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 53 | |
| 54 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 24 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 21 to 80 | |
| 24 to 74 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 20 to 49 | |
| 22 to 46 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 12 | |
| 11 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 18 to 67 | |
| 22 to 70 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 1.0 to 1.1 | |
| 0.65 to 0.75 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 1.3 to 1.7 | |
| 0.6 to 1.2 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.25 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 95.5 to 97.3 | |
| 93.6 to 97.3 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.25 to 0.8 | |
| 0.25 to 0.8 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 1.3 to 2.0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.1 to 0.5 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Vanadium (V), % | 0.1 to 0.3 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |