EN-MC21120 Magnesium vs. EN 1.1203 Steel
EN-MC21120 magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while EN 1.1203 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 EN 1.1203 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 63 to 75 | |
| 200 to 230 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 46 | |
| 190 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 2.2 to 6.7 | |
| 12 to 15 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 84 to 96 | |
| 210 to 310 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 18 | |
| 72 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 110 to 160 | |
| 420 to 480 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 200 to 270 | |
| 690 to 780 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 130 to 170 | |
| 340 to 480 |
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 | 490 | |
| 1420 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 990 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 76 | |
| 48 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 26 | |
| 12 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 11 | |
| 7.2 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 59 | |
| 8.3 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 12 | |
| 2.1 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.7 | |
| 7.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 22 | |
| 1.4 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 160 | |
| 19 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 990 | |
| 47 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 5.0 to 15 | |
| 69 to 100 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 180 to 320 | |
| 310 to 610 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 69 | |
| 24 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 31 to 43 | |
| 25 to 28 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 43 to 53 | |
| 22 to 24 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 44 | |
| 13 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 11 to 16 | |
| 22 to 25 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 8.3 to 9.7 | |
| 0 |
| Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
| 0.52 to 0.6 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.030 | |
| 0 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.0050 | |
| 97.1 to 98.9 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 88.6 to 91.3 | |
| 0 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.1 to 0.5 | |
| 0.6 to 0.9 |
| Molybdenum (Mo), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.0020 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |
| Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.035 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.2 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |
| Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.035 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0.35 to 1.0 | |
| 0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 to 0.010 | |
| 0 |