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AS41B Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI A8 Steel

AS41B magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI A8 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 23 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (8, 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 SAE-AISI A8 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 45
190
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
74
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210
700 to 1920

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 370
270
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 620
1480
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1430
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1000
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 68
37
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 17
8.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 92
9.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
8.5
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 23
2.3
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
31
Embodied Water, L/kg 980
73

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 72
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 35
25 to 68
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 47
22 to 44
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 41
9.9
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 13
22 to 62

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 3.5 to 5.0
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.5 to 0.6
Chromium (Cr), % 0
4.8 to 5.5
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.020
0 to 0.25
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.0035
88.5 to 91.9
Magnesium (Mg), % 92.7 to 95.7
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.35 to 0.7
0 to 0.5
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
1.2 to 1.7
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.0020
0 to 0.3
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.030
Silicon (Si), % 0.5 to 1.5
0.75 to 1.1
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.030
Tungsten (W), % 0
1.0 to 1.5
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.12
0