AZ81A Magnesium vs. Austenitic Grey Cast Iron
AZ81A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while austenitic grey cast iron belongs to the iron alloys. There are 20 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (14, 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 AZ81A magnesium and the bottom bar is austenitic grey cast iron.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 55 | |
| 110 to 210 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 46 | |
| 180 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 to 0.3 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 18 | |
| 69 to 72 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 160 to 240 | |
| 150 to 230 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 350 | |
| 280 to 350 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 600 | |
| 1340 to 1400 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 500 | |
| 1290 to 1350 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 990 | |
| 470 to 490 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 27 | |
| 13 to 14 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 12 | |
| 14 to 24 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.7 | |
| 7.7 to 8.1 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 23 | |
| 3.1 to 4.7 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 160 | |
| 43 to 65 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 990 | |
| 93 to 120 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 70 | |
| 23 to 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 26 to 39 | |
| 5.3 to 8.2 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 38 to 50 | |
| 7.9 to 11 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 9.1 to 14 | |
| 4.5 to 6.5 |