AZ81A Magnesium vs. 5056 Aluminum
AZ81A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while 5056 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is AZ81A magnesium and the bottom bar is 5056 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 46 | |
| 67 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 3.0 to 8.8 | |
| 4.9 to 31 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 78 to 80 | |
| 140 to 200 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.33 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 18 | |
| 25 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 91 to 130 | |
| 170 to 240 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 160 to 240 | |
| 290 to 460 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 84 | |
| 150 to 410 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 350 | |
| 400 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 130 | |
| 190 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 600 | |
| 640 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 500 | |
| 570 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 990 | |
| 910 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 84 | |
| 130 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 27 | |
| 24 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 12 | |
| 29 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 65 | |
| 99 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 12 | |
| 9.5 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.7 | |
| 2.7 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 23 | |
| 9.0 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 160 | |
| 150 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 990 | |
| 1180 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 4.0 to 17 | |
| 12 to 140 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 77 to 78 | |
| 170 to 1220 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 70 | |
| 51 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 26 to 39 | |
| 30 to 48 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 38 to 50 | |
| 36 to 50 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 50 | |
| 53 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 9.1 to 14 | |
| 13 to 20 |
Alloy Composition
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| Aluminum (Al), % | 7.0 to 8.1 | |
| 93 to 95.4 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 0.050 to 0.2 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 89.8 to 92.5 | |
| 4.5 to 5.6 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.13 to 0.35 | |
| 0.050 to 0.2 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.010 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0.4 to 1.0 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Residuals, % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |