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AS41B Magnesium vs. ASTM A372 Grade M Steel

AS41B magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while ASTM A372 grade M steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, 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 AS41B magnesium and the bottom bar is ASTM A372 grade M steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
190
Elongation at Break, % 6.0
18 to 21
Fatigue Strength, MPa 97
450 to 520
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
73
Shear Strength, MPa 120
510 to 570
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210
810 to 910
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 140
660 to 770

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 110
450
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 68
46
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 17
8.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 92
9.1

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
5.0
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
2.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
27
Embodied Water, L/kg 980
61

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 11
160
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220
1140 to 1580
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 72
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35
29 to 32
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 47
24 to 27
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 41
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13
24 to 27

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 3.5 to 5.0
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.23
Chromium (Cr), % 0
1.5 to 2.0
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.020
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.0035
92.5 to 95.1
Magnesium (Mg), % 92.7 to 95.7
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.35 to 0.7
0.2 to 0.4
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.4 to 0.6
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.0020
2.8 to 3.9
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.015
Silicon (Si), % 0.5 to 1.5
0 to 0.3
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.010
Vanadium (V), % 0
0 to 0.080
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.12
0