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AM60A Magnesium vs. ASTM A387 Grade 9 Steel

AM60A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while ASTM A387 grade 9 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, 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 ASTM A387 grade 9 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 62
150 to 180
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
190
Elongation at Break, % 8.8
20 to 21
Fatigue Strength, MPa 70
160 to 240
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.28
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
75
Shear Strength, MPa 130
310 to 380
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 230
500 to 600
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 130
230 to 350

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
270
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 120
600
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 550
1410
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 62
26
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 13
9.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 69
10

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
6.5
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
2.1
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
28
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
87

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 17
83 to 110
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 190
140 to 310
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 37
18 to 21
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 49
18 to 20
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 37
6.9
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
14 to 17

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 5.5 to 6.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.15
Chromium (Cr), % 0
8.0 to 10
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.35
0
Iron (Fe), % 0
87.1 to 90.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 91.8 to 94.4
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.13 to 0.6
0.3 to 0.6
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.9 to 1.1
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.030
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.025
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
0 to 1.0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.025
Vanadium (V), % 0
0 to 0.040
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.22
0