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AZ91A Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI 1078 Steel

AZ91A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1078 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 1078 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 63
220 to 230
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 46
190
Elongation at Break, % 5.0
11 to 14
Fatigue Strength, MPa 99
270 to 350
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
72
Shear Strength, MPa 140
440 to 470
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 240
730 to 780
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 160
430 to 570

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
49
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
11

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 10
7.0
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 52
8.1

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
1.8
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.8
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
77 to 90
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 280
490 to 860
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 69
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
26 to 28
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 49
23 to 24
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 42
13
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
25 to 26

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 8.3 to 9.7
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.72 to 0.85
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0
98.5 to 99
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