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AM60B Magnesium vs. ASTM A36 Carbon Steel

AM60B magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while ASTM A36 carbon steel belongs to the iron alloys. 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 AM60B magnesium and the bottom bar is ASTM A36 carbon steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 62
140
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
190
Elongation at Break, % 11
22
Fatigue Strength, MPa 96
200
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 17
73
Shear Strength, MPa 140
300
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 230
480
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 130
290

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 120
400
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 540
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 61
50
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
11

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 13
12
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 72
14

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
1.8
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
44

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 21
92
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 190
220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
17
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 50
17
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 37
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
16

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 5.5 to 6.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.26
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.010
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.0050
99.25 to 100
Magnesium (Mg), % 92.6 to 94.3
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.24 to 0.6
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.0020
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.1
0 to 0.4
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.22
0