5052 Aluminum vs. EN-MC21120 Magnesium
5052 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while EN-MC21120 magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 31 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (1, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is 5052 aluminum and the bottom bar is EN-MC21120 magnesium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 46 to 83 | |
| 63 to 75 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 68 | |
| 46 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 1.1 to 22 | |
| 2.2 to 6.7 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 66 to 140 | |
| 84 to 96 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 26 | |
| 18 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 120 to 180 | |
| 110 to 160 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 190 to 320 | |
| 200 to 270 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 75 to 280 | |
| 130 to 170 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 400 | |
| 350 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 190 | |
| 130 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 650 | |
| 600 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 610 | |
| 490 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 990 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 140 | |
| 76 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 24 | |
| 26 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 35 | |
| 11 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 120 | |
| 59 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 9.5 | |
| 12 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.7 | |
| 1.7 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.6 | |
| 22 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
| 160 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 1190 | |
| 990 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 1.7 to 69 | |
| 5.0 to 15 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 41 to 590 | |
| 180 to 320 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 15 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 69 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 19 to 33 | |
| 31 to 43 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 27 to 38 | |
| 43 to 53 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 57 | |
| 44 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 8.3 to 14 | |
| 11 to 16 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 95.8 to 97.7 | |
| 8.3 to 9.7 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0.15 to 0.35 | |
| 0 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 to 0.030 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.4 | |
| 0 to 0.0050 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 2.2 to 2.8 | |
| 88.6 to 91.3 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0.1 to 0.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.0020 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.25 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0.35 to 1.0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |