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AM50A Magnesium vs. S31266 Stainless Steel

AM50A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while S31266 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 S31266 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
210
Elongation at Break, % 11
40
Fatigue Strength, MPa 70
400
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
81
Shear Strength, MPa 120
590
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210
860
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 120
470

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
310
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 120
1100
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1470
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
460
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 65
12
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
16

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 16
1.8
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 88
2.0

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
37
Density, g/cm3 1.7
8.2
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
6.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
89
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
220

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 19
290
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 150
540
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35
29
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 47
24
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 39
3.1
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13
18

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 4.4 to 5.4
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.030
Chromium (Cr), % 0
23 to 25
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.010
1.0 to 2.5
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.0040
34.1 to 46
Magnesium (Mg), % 93.7 to 95.3
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.26 to 0.6
2.0 to 4.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
5.2 to 6.2
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.0020
21 to 24
Nitrogen (N), % 0
0.35 to 0.6
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.020
Tungsten (W), % 0
1.5 to 2.5
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.22
0