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AZ91A Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI 1020 Steel

AZ91A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1020 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 SAE-AISI 1020 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 63
120 to 130
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 46
190
Elongation at Break, % 5.0
17 to 28
Fatigue Strength, MPa 99
180 to 250
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
73
Shear Strength, MPa 140
280
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 240
430 to 460
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 160
240 to 380

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 360
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 130
400
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
52
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
12

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 10
11
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 52
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
1.8
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 22
1.4
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
18
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
45

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 11
72 to 100
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 280
150 to 380
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 69
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
15 to 16
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 49
16 to 17
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 42
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
13 to 14

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 8.3 to 9.7
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.18 to 0.23
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0
99.08 to 99.52
Magnesium (Mg), % 88.2 to 91.2
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.13 to 0.5
0.3 to 0.6
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.030
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.040
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
0
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.050
Zinc (Zn), % 0.35 to 1.0
0