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AM50A Magnesium vs. ACI-ASTM CF20 Steel

AM50A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while ACI-ASTM CF20 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 AM50A magnesium and the bottom bar is ACI-ASTM CF20 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 58
160
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
200
Elongation at Break, % 11
50
Fatigue Strength, MPa 70
240
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
77
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210
530
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 120
250

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
300
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 120
970
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1420
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 65
16
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
17

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 16
2.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 88
2.3

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
16
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
3.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
44
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
150

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 19
220
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 150
160
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35
19
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 47
19
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 39
4.3
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13
11

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 4.4 to 5.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.2
Chromium (Cr), % 0
18 to 21
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.010
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.0040
64.2 to 74
Magnesium (Mg), % 93.7 to 95.3
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.26 to 0.6
0 to 1.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.0020
8.0 to 11
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 2.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.22
0