SAE-AISI M50 Steel vs. Grade CU5MCuC Nickel
SAE-AISI M50 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while grade CU5MCuC nickel belongs to the nickel alloys. They have a modest 38% of their average alloy composition in common, which, by itself, doesn't mean much. There are 20 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (10, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI M50 steel and the bottom bar is grade CU5MCuC nickel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 200 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 75 | |
| 77 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 720 to 2250 | |
| 580 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 260 | |
| 310 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 1480 | |
| 1420 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 1440 | |
| 1370 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 460 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 13 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 9.0 | |
| 45 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 8.2 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 5.1 | |
| 7.7 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 74 | |
| 110 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 83 | |
| 230 |
Common Calculations
| PREN (Pitting Resistance) | 19 | |
| 31 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 26 to 80 | |
| 20 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 23 to 49 | |
| 19 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 21 to 66 | |
| 16 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.78 to 0.88 | |
| 0 to 0.050 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 3.8 to 4.5 | |
| 19.5 to 23.5 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 1.5 to 3.5 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 87 to 90.4 | |
| 22.2 to 37.9 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.15 to 0.45 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 3.9 to 4.8 | |
| 2.5 to 3.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 38 to 44 |
| Niobium (Nb), % | 0 | |
| 0.6 to 1.2 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.2 to 0.6 | |
| 0 to 1.0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Vanadium (V), % | 0.8 to 1.3 | |
| 0 |