MakeItFrom.com
Menu (ESC)

AM60A Magnesium vs. AISI 420 Stainless Steel

AM60A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while AISI 420 stainless steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 AM60A magnesium and the bottom bar is AISI 420 stainless steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 62
190
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
190
Elongation at Break, % 8.8
8.0 to 15
Fatigue Strength, MPa 70
220 to 670
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
76
Shear Strength, MPa 130
420 to 1010
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 230
690 to 1720
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 130
380 to 1310

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
280
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 120
620
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1510
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 550
1450
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
480
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 62
27
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
10

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 13
3.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 69
3.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
7.5
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.7
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
2.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
28
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
100

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 17
88 to 130
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 190
380 to 4410
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 37
25 to 62
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 49
22 to 41
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 37
7.3
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
25 to 62

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 5.5 to 6.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.15 to 0.4
Chromium (Cr), % 0
12 to 14
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.35
0
Iron (Fe), % 0
82.3 to 87.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 91.8 to 94.4
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.13 to 0.6
0 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0 to 0.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.030
0 to 0.75
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.22
0