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AM60B Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI M46 Steel

AM60B magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI M46 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 AM60B magnesium and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI M46 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 17
77
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 230
800 to 2300

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 350
270
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1540
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 540
1500
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
450
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 61
18
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
33
Density, g/cm3 1.7
8.1
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
12
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
180
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
150

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
27 to 78
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 50
24 to 48
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 37
4.9
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
25 to 71

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 5.5 to 6.5
0
Carbon (C), % 0
1.2 to 1.3
Chromium (Cr), % 0
3.7 to 4.2
Cobalt (Co), % 0
7.8 to 8.8
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.010
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.0050
70 to 73.8
Magnesium (Mg), % 92.6 to 94.3
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.24 to 0.6
0.2 to 0.4
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
8.0 to 8.5
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.0020
0 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.1
0.4 to 0.65
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Tungsten (W), % 0
1.9 to 2.2
Vanadium (V), % 0
3.0 to 3.3
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.22
0