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ASTM A36 Carbon Steel vs. EQ21A Magnesium

ASTM A36 carbon steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while EQ21A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys. There are 30 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 ASTM A36 carbon steel and the bottom bar is EQ21A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 140
80
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
44
Elongation at Break, % 22
2.4
Fatigue Strength, MPa 200
110
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
17
Shear Strength, MPa 300
150
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 480
250
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 290
190

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
340
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 400
160
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
560
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
980
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 50
110
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 11
27

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 12
25
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 14
120

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 1.8
80
Density, g/cm3 7.9
1.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.4
27
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 18
210

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 92
5.6
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220
410
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
63
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17
37
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 17
47
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 14
62
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 16
15

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.26
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0.050 to 0.1
Iron (Fe), % 99.25 to 100
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
93.9 to 96.8
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.010
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0
Silver (Ag), % 0
1.3 to 1.7
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.050
0
Unspecified Rare Earths, % 0
1.5 to 3.0
Zirconium (Zr), % 0
0.4 to 1.0
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.3