SAE-AISI M50 Steel vs. Reactor Grade Zirconium
SAE-AISI M50 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while reactor grade zirconium belongs to the otherwise unclassified metals. There are 16 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (12, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is SAE-AISI M50 steel and the bottom bar is reactor grade zirconium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 190 | |
| 98 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.34 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 75 | |
| 37 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 720 to 2250 | |
| 330 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 260 | |
| 250 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 470 | |
| 270 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 35 | |
| 22 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 13 | |
| 5.9 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 7.9 | |
| 6.5 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 83 | |
| 280 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 8.4 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 25 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 26 to 80 | |
| 14 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 23 to 49 | |
| 16 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 9.7 | |
| 13 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 21 to 66 | |
| 41 |
Alloy Composition
| Carbon (C), % | 0.78 to 0.88 | |
| 0 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 3.8 to 4.5 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 87 to 90.4 | |
| 0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.15 to 0.45 | |
| 0 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 3.9 to 4.8 | |
| 0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0.2 to 0.6 | |
| 0 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 |
| Vanadium (V), % | 0.8 to 1.3 | |
| 0 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 0 | |
| 99.7 to 100 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.27 |