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SAE-AISI L3 Steel vs. WE54A Magnesium

SAE-AISI L3 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while WE54A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 23 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (9, 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 L3 steel and the bottom bar is WE54A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
44
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 72
17
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 600 to 2250
270 to 300

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
330
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1450
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1410
570
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
960
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 43
52
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
25

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.4
10
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.5
47

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 2.5
34
Density, g/cm3 7.8
1.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.9
29
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 27
260
Embodied Water, L/kg 53
900

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
62
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 21 to 80
39 to 43
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 20 to 49
49 to 51
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 12
28
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 18 to 67
18 to 19

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 1.0 to 1.1
0
Chromium (Cr), % 1.3 to 1.7
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.030
Iron (Fe), % 95.5 to 97.3
0 to 0.010
Lithium (Li), % 0
0 to 0.2
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
88.7 to 93.4
Manganese (Mn), % 0.25 to 0.8
0 to 0.030
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.0050
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.030
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.1 to 0.5
0 to 0.010
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0
Unspecified Rare Earths, % 0
1.5 to 4.0
Vanadium (V), % 0.1 to 0.3
0
Yttrium (Y), % 0
4.8 to 5.5
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.2
Zirconium (Zr), % 0
0.4 to 1.0
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.3