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AM50A Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI 1090 Steel

AM50A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1090 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, 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 SAE-AISI 1090 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 58
220 to 280
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
190
Elongation at Break, % 11
11
Fatigue Strength, MPa 70
320 to 380
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
72
Shear Strength, MPa 120
470 to 570
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210
790 to 950
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 120
520 to 610

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
240
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 120
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1450
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 65
50
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 16
7.1
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 88
8.2

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
1.8
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
19
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
46

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 19
82 to 91
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 150
730 to 1000
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35
28 to 34
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 47
24 to 27
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 39
13
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13
25 to 31

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 4.4 to 5.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.85 to 1.0
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.010
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.0040
98 to 98.6
Magnesium (Mg), % 93.7 to 95.3
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.26 to 0.6
0.6 to 0.9
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.0020
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.1
0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.22
0