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 |