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ASTM A387 Grade 2 Steel vs. WE54A Magnesium

ASTM A387 grade 2 steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while WE54A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 31 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 ASTM A387 grade 2 steel and the bottom bar is WE54A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 140 to 170
85
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
44
Elongation at Break, % 25
4.3 to 5.6
Fatigue Strength, MPa 190 to 250
98 to 130
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
17
Shear Strength, MPa 300 to 350
150 to 170
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 470 to 550
270 to 300
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 260 to 350
180

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
330
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 420
170
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1470
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
570
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
960
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 45
52
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 13
25

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.2
10
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.3
47

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 2.6
34
Density, g/cm3 7.9
1.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.6
29
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 20
260
Embodied Water, L/kg 50
900

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 98 to 120
10 to 14
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 180 to 320
360 to 380
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
62
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 16 to 20
39 to 43
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 17 to 19
49 to 51
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 12
28
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14 to 16
18 to 19

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0.050 to 0.21
0
Chromium (Cr), % 0.5 to 0.8
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.030
Iron (Fe), % 97.1 to 98.3
0 to 0.010
Lithium (Li), % 0
0 to 0.2
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
88.7 to 93.4
Manganese (Mn), % 0.55 to 0.8
0 to 0.030
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0.45 to 0.6
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.0050
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.025
0
Silicon (Si), % 0.15 to 0.4
0 to 0.010
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.025
0
Unspecified Rare Earths, % 0
1.5 to 4.0
Yttrium (Y), % 0
4.8 to 5.5
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.2
Zirconium (Zr), % 0
0.4 to 1.0
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.3