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S45500 Stainless Steel vs. ZK51A Magnesium

S45500 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while ZK51A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 25 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (11, 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 S45500 stainless steel and the bottom bar is ZK51A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
45
Elongation at Break, % 3.4 to 11
4.7
Fatigue Strength, MPa 570 to 890
62
Poisson's Ratio 0.28
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 75
18
Shear Strength, MPa 790 to 1090
160
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 1370 to 1850
240
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 1240 to 1700
150

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 270
340
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 760
120
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1440
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1400
550
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
970
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 11
26

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 17
13
Density, g/cm3 7.9
1.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 3.8
24
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 57
160
Embodied Water, L/kg 120
940

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 45 to 190
10
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
64
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 48 to 65
36
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 35 to 42
47
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 48 to 64
15

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.050
0
Chromium (Cr), % 11 to 12.5
0
Copper (Cu), % 1.5 to 2.5
0 to 0.1
Iron (Fe), % 71.5 to 79.2
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
93.1 to 95.9
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.5
0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0 to 0.5
0
Nickel (Ni), % 7.5 to 9.5
0 to 0.010
Niobium (Nb), % 0 to 0.5
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
0
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.030
0
Tantalum (Ta), % 0 to 0.5
0
Titanium (Ti), % 0.8 to 1.4
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0
3.6 to 5.5
Zirconium (Zr), % 0
0.5 to 1.0
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.3