EN-MC21120 Magnesium vs. ASTM A588 Steel
EN-MC21120 magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while ASTM A588 steel belongs to the iron alloys. 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-MC21120 magnesium and the bottom bar is ASTM A588 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 63 to 75 | |
| 170 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 46 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 2.2 to 6.7 | |
| 22 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 84 to 96 | |
| 270 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 18 | |
| 73 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 110 to 160 | |
| 350 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 200 to 270 | |
| 550 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 130 to 170 | |
| 390 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 350 | |
| 250 to 260 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 130 | |
| 410 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 600 | |
| 1460 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 490 | |
| 1410 to 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 990 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 76 | |
| 43 to 44 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 26 | |
| 13 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 11 | |
| 7.4 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 59 | |
| 8.5 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 12 | |
| 2.3 to 2.5 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.7 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 22 | |
| 1.5 to 1.6 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 160 | |
| 20 to 22 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 990 | |
| 50 to 51 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 5.0 to 15 | |
| 110 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 180 to 320 | |
| 400 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 69 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 31 to 43 | |
| 20 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 43 to 53 | |
| 19 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 44 | |
| 12 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 11 to 16 | |
| 16 |