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SAE-AISI M6 Steel vs. WE54A Magnesium

SAE-AISI M6 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while WE54A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 21 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (12, 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 M6 steel and the bottom bar is WE54A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 200
44
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 77
17
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 840 to 2210
270 to 300

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 260
330
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1560
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1510
570
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 440
960
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 17
52
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 12
25

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 39
34
Density, g/cm3 8.4
1.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.0
29
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 120
260
Embodied Water, L/kg 160
900

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 23
62
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 28 to 73
39 to 43
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 24 to 45
49 to 51
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 4.7
28
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 26 to 68
18 to 19

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0.75 to 0.85
0
Chromium (Cr), % 3.8 to 4.5
0
Cobalt (Co), % 11 to 13
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.030
Iron (Fe), % 68.8 to 74.6
0 to 0.010
Lithium (Li), % 0
0 to 0.2
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
88.7 to 93.4
Manganese (Mn), % 0.15 to 0.4
0 to 0.030
Molybdenum (Mo), % 4.5 to 5.5
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.0050
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.030
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.2 to 0.45
0 to 0.010
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0
Tungsten (W), % 3.8 to 4.8
0
Unspecified Rare Earths, % 0
1.5 to 4.0
Vanadium (V), % 1.3 to 1.7
0
Yttrium (Y), % 0
4.8 to 5.5
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.2
Zirconium (Zr), % 0
0.4 to 1.0
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.3