EN-MC21120 Magnesium vs. 5040 Aluminum
EN-MC21120 magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while 5040 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys.
For each property being compared, the top bar is EN-MC21120 magnesium and the bottom bar is 5040 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 63 to 75 | |
| 66 to 74 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 46 | |
| 70 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 2.2 to 6.7 | |
| 5.7 to 6.8 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 84 to 96 | |
| 100 to 130 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.33 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 18 | |
| 26 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 110 to 160 | |
| 140 to 150 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 200 to 270 | |
| 240 to 260 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 130 to 170 | |
| 190 to 230 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 350 | |
| 400 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 130 | |
| 190 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 600 | |
| 650 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 490 | |
| 600 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 990 | |
| 900 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 76 | |
| 160 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 26 | |
| 23 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 11 | |
| 41 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 59 | |
| 130 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 12 | |
| 9.5 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.7 | |
| 2.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 22 | |
| 8.3 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 160 | |
| 150 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 990 | |
| 1180 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 5.0 to 15 | |
| 14 to 15 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 180 to 320 | |
| 260 to 380 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 69 | |
| 50 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 31 to 43 | |
| 24 to 26 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 43 to 53 | |
| 31 to 32 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 44 | |
| 64 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 11 to 16 | |
| 10 to 11 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 8.3 to 9.7 | |
| 95.2 to 98 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 0.1 to 0.3 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 to 0.25 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.0050 | |
| 0 to 0.7 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 88.6 to 91.3 | |
| 1.0 to 1.5 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.1 to 0.5 | |
| 0.9 to 1.4 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.0020 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0.35 to 1.0 | |
| 0 to 0.25 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |