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AM60A Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI H42 Steel

AM60A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI H42 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 AM60A magnesium and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI H42 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
77
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 230
700 to 1980

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
260
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1620
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 550
1570
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
440
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 62
24
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
24
Density, g/cm3 1.7
8.4
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
8.8
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
130
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
98

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
23
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 37
23 to 65
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 49
21 to 42
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 37
6.5
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
20 to 57

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 5.5 to 6.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.55 to 0.7
Chromium (Cr), % 0
3.8 to 4.5
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.35
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0
79.3 to 83.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 91.8 to 94.4
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.13 to 0.6
0.15 to 0.4
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
4.5 to 5.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.030
0 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Tungsten (W), % 0
5.5 to 6.8
Vanadium (V), % 0
1.8 to 2.2
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.22
0