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ASTM A36 Carbon Steel vs. WE54A Magnesium

ASTM A36 carbon steel belongs to the iron alloys classification, while WE54A 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. 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 WE54A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 140
85
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
44
Elongation at Break, % 22
4.3 to 5.6
Fatigue Strength, MPa 200
98 to 130
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 73
17
Shear Strength, MPa 300
150 to 170
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 480
270 to 300
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 290
180

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 250
330
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 400
170
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1460
640
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1420
570
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
960
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 50
52
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 11
25

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 12
10
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 14
47

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 1.8
34
Density, g/cm3 7.9
1.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.4
29
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 18
260
Embodied Water, L/kg 44
900

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 92
10 to 14
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 220
360 to 380
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
62
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17
39 to 43
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 17
49 to 51
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 14
28
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 16
18 to 19

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 0 to 0.26
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
0 to 0.030
Iron (Fe), % 99.25 to 100
0 to 0.010
Lithium (Li), % 0
0 to 0.2
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
88.7 to 93.4
Manganese (Mn), % 0
0 to 0.030
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.0050
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.040
0
Silicon (Si), % 0 to 0.4
0 to 0.010
Sulfur (S), % 0 to 0.050
0
Unspecified Rare Earths, % 0
1.5 to 4.0
Yttrium (Y), % 0
4.8 to 5.5
Zinc (Zn), % 0
0 to 0.2
Zirconium (Zr), % 0
0.4 to 1.0
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.3