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SAE-AISI M3 Class 2 Steel vs. 4145 Aluminum

SAE-AISI M3 class 2 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while 4145 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 21 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (11, 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 M3 class 2 steel and the bottom bar is 4145 aluminum.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 200
73
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.33
Shear Modulus, GPa 77
28
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 770 to 2210
120

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 260
540
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1620
590
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1570
520
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 440
880
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 26
100
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 12
21

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 25
10
Density, g/cm3 8.3
2.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 12
7.6
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 180
140
Embodied Water, L/kg 110
1040

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 23
50
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 26 to 74
12
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 22 to 45
19
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 7.2
42
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 24 to 69
5.5

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 0
83 to 87.4
Carbon (C), % 1.2 to 1.3
0
Chromium (Cr), % 3.8 to 4.5
0 to 0.15
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.25
3.3 to 4.7
Iron (Fe), % 75.8 to 82.3
0 to 0.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
0 to 0.15
Manganese (Mn), % 0.15 to 0.4
0 to 0.15
Molybdenum (Mo), % 4.8 to 6.5
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.3
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.030
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.2 to 0.45
9.3 to 10.7
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0
Tungsten (W), % 5.0 to 6.8
0
Vanadium (V), % 2.8 to 3.8
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.2
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.15