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AM50A Magnesium vs. Zamak 5

AM50A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while Zamak 5 belongs to the zinc alloys. There are 31 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 Zamak 5.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 58
92
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
87
Elongation at Break, % 11
6.3
Fatigue Strength, MPa 70
56
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.25
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
33
Shear Strength, MPa 120
260
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210
330
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 120
240

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
120
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 120
95
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
390
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
380
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
410
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 65
110
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
27

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 16
26
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 88
37

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
12
Density, g/cm3 1.7
6.4
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
3.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
57
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
380

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 19
19
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 150
330
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
7.5
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
23
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35
14
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 47
16
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 39
42
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13
9.9

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 4.4 to 5.4
3.5 to 4.3
Cadmium (Cd), % 0
0 to 0.0050
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.010
0.7 to 1.3
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.0040
0 to 0.1
Lead (Pb), % 0
0 to 0.0050
Magnesium (Mg), % 93.7 to 95.3
0.025 to 0.080
Manganese (Mn), % 0.26 to 0.6
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.0020
0 to 0.020
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 0.030
Tin (Sn), % 0
0 to 0.0030
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.22
94.3 to 95.7