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AZ91A Magnesium vs. ASTM A387 Grade 5 Steel

AZ91A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while ASTM A387 grade 5 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 AZ91A magnesium and the bottom bar is ASTM A387 grade 5 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 63
150 to 180
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 46
190
Elongation at Break, % 5.0
20 to 21
Fatigue Strength, MPa 99
160 to 240
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
74
Shear Strength, MPa 140
310 to 380
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 240
500 to 600
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 160
230 to 350

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 360
260
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 130
510
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 600
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 470
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 990
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 73
40
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 10
8.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 52
9.2

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
4.3
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 22
1.7
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
23
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
69

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 11
83 to 110
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 280
140 to 320
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
14
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 69
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
18 to 21
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 49
18 to 20
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 42
11
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
14 to 17

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 8.3 to 9.7
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0 to 0.15
Chromium (Cr), % 0
4.0 to 6.0
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0
92.1 to 95.3
Magnesium (Mg), % 88.2 to 91.2
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.13 to 0.5
0.3 to 0.6
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.45 to 0.65
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.030
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.025
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
0 to 0.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.025
Zinc (Zn), % 0.35 to 1.0
0