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AZ91A Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI 4150 Steel

AZ91A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 4150 steel belongs to the iron 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 AZ91A magnesium and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 4150 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 63
200 to 380
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 46
190
Elongation at Break, % 5.0
12 to 20
Fatigue Strength, MPa 99
260 to 780
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
73
Shear Strength, MPa 140
410 to 800
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 240
660 to 1310
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 160
380 to 1220

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 360
250
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 130
420
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
42
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 10
7.3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 52
8.4

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
2.4
Density, g/cm3 1.7
7.8
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 22
1.5
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
20
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
51

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 11
82 to 180
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 280
380 to 3930
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 69
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
24 to 47
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 49
22 to 34
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 42
11
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
19 to 39

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 8.3 to 9.7
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.48 to 0.53
Chromium (Cr), % 0
0.8 to 1.1
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0
Iron (Fe), % 0
96.7 to 97.7
Magnesium (Mg), % 88.2 to 91.2
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0.13 to 0.5
0.75 to 1.0
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.15 to 0.25
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.030
0
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.035
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
0.15 to 0.35
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.040
Zinc (Zn), % 0.35 to 1.0
0