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AZ91A Magnesium vs. Zamak 5

AZ91A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while Zamak 5 belongs to the zinc alloys. There are 32 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (4, 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 Zamak 5.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 63
92
Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa 160
600
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 46
87
Elongation at Break, % 5.0
6.3
Fatigue Strength, MPa 99
56
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.25
Shear Modulus, GPa 18
33
Shear Strength, MPa 140
260
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 240
330
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 160
240

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 360
120
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 130
95
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 600
390
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 470
380
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 990
410
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 73
110
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 26
27

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 10
26
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 52
37

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 12
12
Density, g/cm3 1.7
6.4
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 22
3.0
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 160
57
Embodied Water, L/kg 990
380

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 11
19
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 280
330
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
7.5
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 69
23
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 38
14
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 49
16
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 42
42
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 14
9.9

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 8.3 to 9.7
3.5 to 4.3
Cadmium (Cd), % 0
0 to 0.0050
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.1
0.7 to 1.3
Iron (Fe), % 0
0 to 0.1
Lead (Pb), % 0
0 to 0.0050
Magnesium (Mg), % 88.2 to 91.2
0.025 to 0.080
Manganese (Mn), % 0.13 to 0.5
0
Nickel (Ni), % 0 to 0.030
0 to 0.020
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.5
0 to 0.030
Tin (Sn), % 0
0 to 0.0030
Zinc (Zn), % 0.35 to 1.0
94.3 to 95.7