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Ductile Cast Iron vs. ZC63A Magnesium

Ductile cast iron belongs to the iron alloys classification, while ZC63A 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. 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 ductile cast iron and the bottom bar is ZC63A magnesium.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Brinell Hardness 160 to 310
60
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 170 to 180
48
Elongation at Break, % 2.1 to 20
3.3
Poisson's Ratio 0.28 to 0.31
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 64 to 70
19
Shear Strength, MPa 420 to 800
130
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 460 to 920
220
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 310 to 670
130

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 270
330
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 290
98
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 1160
550
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 1120
470
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 490
950
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 31 to 36
120
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 11
26

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 7.4
32
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 8.8 to 9.4
140

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 1.9
13
Density, g/cm3 7.1 to 7.5
2.1
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 1.5
22
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 21
150
Embodied Water, L/kg 43
920

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 17 to 80
6.3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 280 to 1330
190
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 12 to 14
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24 to 26
58
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17 to 35
29
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 18 to 29
38
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 8.9 to 10
58
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 17 to 35
12

Alloy Composition

Carbon (C), % 3.0 to 3.5
0
Copper (Cu), % 0
2.4 to 3.0
Iron (Fe), % 93.7 to 95.5
0
Magnesium (Mg), % 0
89.2 to 91.9
Manganese (Mn), % 0
0.25 to 0.75
Nickel (Ni), % 0
0 to 0.010
Phosphorus (P), % 0 to 0.080
0
Silicon (Si), % 1.5 to 2.8
0 to 0.2
Zinc (Zn), % 0
5.5 to 6.5
Residuals, % 0
0 to 0.3