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AM50A Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI 1541 Steel

AM50A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1541 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 1541 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 58
210 to 220
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
190
Elongation at Break, % 11
11 to 17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 70
260 to 420
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
73
Shear Strength, MPa 120
440 to 480
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210
720 to 790
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 120
390 to 680

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 120
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 65
52
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
1.9
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
48

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 19
78 to 100
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 150
410 to 1250
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35
25 to 28
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 47
23 to 24
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 39
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13
23 to 25

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 4.4 to 5.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.36 to 0.44
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.010
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.0040
97.8 to 98.3
Magnesium (Mg), % 93.7 to 95.3
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.26 to 0.6
1.4 to 1.7
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