SAE-AISI M4 Steel vs. N08120 Nickel
SAE-AISI M4 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while N08120 nickel belongs to the nickel alloys. They have a modest 39% of their average alloy composition in common, which, by itself, doesn't mean much. There are 22 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (7, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI M4 steel and the bottom bar is N08120 nickel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 200 | |
| 200 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 76 | |
| 79 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 770 to 2150 | |
| 700 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 260 | |
| 310 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1610 | |
| 1420 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1560 | |
| 1370 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 440 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 25 | |
| 11 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 14 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 25 | |
| 45 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 8.3 | |
| 8.2 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 14 | |
| 7.2 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 210 | |
| 100 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 110 | |
| 240 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 30 | |
| 35 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 23 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 26 to 72 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 23 to 45 | |
| 21 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 6.9 | |
| 3.0 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 24 to 68 | |
| 17 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |
| Boron (B), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Carbon (C), % | 1.3 to 1.4 | |
| 0.020 to 0.1 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 3.8 to 4.8 | |
| 23 to 27 |
| Cobalt (Co), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 3.0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 75.9 to 81.4 | |
| 21 to 41.4 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.15 to 0.4 | |
| 0 to 1.5 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 4.3 to 5.5 | |
| 0 to 2.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 35 to 39 |
| Niobium (Nb), % | 0 | |
| 0.4 to 0.9 |
| Nitrogen (N), % | 0 | |
| 0.15 to 0.3 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.2 to 0.45 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Tungsten (W), % | 5.3 to 6.5 | |
| 0 to 2.5 |
| Vanadium (V), % | 3.8 to 4.5 | |
| 0 |