A356.0 Aluminum vs. AZ81A Magnesium
A356.0 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while AZ81A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is A356.0 aluminum and the bottom bar is AZ81A magnesium.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 70 | |
| 46 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 3.0 to 6.0 | |
| 3.0 to 8.8 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 50 to 90 | |
| 78 to 80 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 26 | |
| 18 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 160 to 270 | |
| 160 to 240 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 83 to 200 | |
| 84 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 500 | |
| 350 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 170 | |
| 130 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 610 | |
| 600 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 570 | |
| 500 |
| Solidification (Pattern Maker's) Shrinkage, % | 1.3 | |
| 1.3 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 990 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 150 | |
| 84 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 21 | |
| 27 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 40 | |
| 12 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 140 | |
| 65 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 9.5 | |
| 12 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.6 | |
| 1.7 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 8.0 | |
| 23 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 150 | |
| 160 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 1110 | |
| 990 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 4.8 to 15 | |
| 4.0 to 17 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 49 to 300 | |
| 77 to 78 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 | |
| 15 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 53 | |
| 70 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 17 to 29 | |
| 26 to 39 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 25 to 36 | |
| 38 to 50 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 64 | |
| 50 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 7.6 to 13 | |
| 9.1 to 14 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 91.1 to 93.3 | |
| 7.0 to 8.1 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
| 0 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 0.25 to 0.45 | |
| 89.8 to 92.5 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0.13 to 0.35 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.010 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 6.5 to 7.5 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
| 0 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0.4 to 1.0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |