EN-MC21110 Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI 1541 Steel
EN-MC21110 magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1541 steel belongs to the iron 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 EN-MC21110 magnesium and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1541 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness | 58 to 63 | |
210 to 220 |
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 46 | |
190 |
Elongation at Break, % | 2.8 to 6.7 | |
11 to 17 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 75 to 78 | |
260 to 420 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
0.29 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 18 | |
73 |
Shear Strength, MPa | 120 to 160 | |
440 to 480 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 200 to 270 | |
720 to 790 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 100 to 120 | |
390 to 680 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 350 | |
250 |
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 130 | |
400 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 600 | |
1460 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 500 | |
1420 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 990 | |
470 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 80 | |
52 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 26 | |
12 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 12 | |
7.1 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 61 | |
8.2 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 12 | |
1.9 |
Density, g/cm3 | 1.7 | |
7.8 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 23 | |
1.4 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 160 | |
19 |
Embodied Water, L/kg | 990 | |
48 |
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 4.9 to 14 | |
78 to 100 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 120 to 150 | |
410 to 1250 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 | |
13 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 69 | |
24 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 33 to 44 | |
25 to 28 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 45 to 54 | |
23 to 24 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 47 | |
14 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 12 to 16 | |
23 to 25 |
Alloy Composition
Aluminum (Al), % | 7.0 to 8.7 | |
0 |
Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
0.36 to 0.44 |
Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
0 |
Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.0050 | |
97.8 to 98.3 |
Magnesium (Mg), % | 89.6 to 92.6 | |
0 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0.1 to 0.35 | |
1.4 to 1.7 |
Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.0020 | |
0 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.040 |
Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
0 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.050 |
Zinc (Zn), % | 0.35 to 1.0 | |
0 |
Residuals, % | 0 to 0.010 | |
0 |