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AM50A Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI A7 Steel

AM50A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI A7 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 21 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 AM50A magnesium and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI A7 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
190
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
72
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210
800 to 2150

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
260
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1470
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1430
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 65
37
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
10
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
13
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
200
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
100

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35
29 to 77
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 47
25 to 48
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 39
10
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13
27 to 72

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 4.4 to 5.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
2.0 to 2.9
Chromium (Cr), % 0
5.0 to 5.8
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.010
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.0040
81.4 to 87.7
Magnesium (Mg), % 93.7 to 95.3
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.26 to 0.6
0 to 0.8
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.9 to 1.4
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.0020
0 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 0.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Tungsten (W), % 0
0.5 to 1.5
Vanadium (V), % 0
3.9 to 5.2
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.22
0