AM50A Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI 4620 Steel
AM50A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 4620 steel belongs to the iron alloys. 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 4620 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 58 | |
| 150 to 210 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 45 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 11 | |
| 16 to 27 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 70 | |
| 260 to 360 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 17 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 120 | |
| 320 to 420 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 210 | |
| 490 to 680 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 120 | |
| 350 to 550 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 350 | |
| 250 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 120 | |
| 410 |
| 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 | |
| 47 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 26 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 16 | |
| 7.3 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 88 | |
| 8.4 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 12 | |
| 3.2 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.7 | |
| 7.9 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 23 | |
| 1.6 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 160 | |
| 22 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 990 | |
| 50 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 19 | |
| 100 to 120 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 150 | |
| 330 to 800 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 71 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 35 | |
| 17 to 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 47 | |
| 18 to 22 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 39 | |
| 13 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 13 | |
| 15 to 20 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 4.4 to 5.4 | |
| 0 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
| 0.17 to 0.22 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.010 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.0040 | |
| 96.4 to 97.4 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 93.7 to 95.3 | |
| 0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.26 to 0.6 | |
| 0.45 to 0.65 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 0.2 to 0.3 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.0020 | |
| 1.7 to 2.0 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.035 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0.15 to 0.35 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.040 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.22 | |
| 0 |