SAE-AISI M4 Steel vs. Type 2 Niobium
SAE-AISI M4 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while Type 2 niobium belongs to the otherwise unclassified metals. There are 16 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (11, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI M4 steel and the bottom bar is Type 2 niobium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 110 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.4 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 76 | |
| 38 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 770 to 2150 | |
| 140 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 260 | |
| 320 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 440 | |
| 270 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 25 | |
| 52 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 7.3 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 8.3 | |
| 8.6 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 110 | |
| 160 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 6.8 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 23 | |
| 18 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 26 to 72 | |
| 4.6 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 23 to 45 | |
| 7.1 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 6.9 | |
| 23 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 24 to 68 | |
| 13 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 1.3 to 1.4 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 3.8 to 4.8 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0 |
| Hafnium (Hf), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |
| Hydrogen (H), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0015 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 75.9 to 81.4 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.15 to 0.4 | |
| 0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 4.3 to 5.5 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0 to 0.0050 |
| Niobium (Nb), % | 0 | |
| 99.5 to 100 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Oxygen (O), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.025 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.2 to 0.45 | |
| 0 to 0.0050 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 |
| Tantalum (Ta), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Tungsten (W), % | 5.3 to 6.5 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Vanadium (V), % | 3.8 to 4.5 | |
| 0 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.020 |