EN-MC21220 Magnesium vs. 5251 Aluminum
EN-MC21220 magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while 5251 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys.
For each property being compared, the top bar is EN-MC21220 magnesium and the bottom bar is 5251 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Brinell Hardness | 58 | |
| 44 to 79 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 45 | |
| 68 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 11 | |
| 2.0 to 19 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 89 | |
| 59 to 110 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.33 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 17 | |
| 26 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 120 | |
| 110 to 160 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 210 | |
| 180 to 280 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 120 | |
| 67 to 250 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 350 | |
| 400 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 120 | |
| 180 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 600 | |
| 650 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 540 | |
| 610 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 1000 | |
| 900 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 65 | |
| 150 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 27 | |
| 24 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 16 | |
| 37 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 87 | |
| 120 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 12 | |
| 9.5 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.7 | |
| 2.7 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 23 | |
| 8.5 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 160 | |
| 150 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 990 | |
| 1180 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 20 | |
| 5.4 to 27 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 160 | |
| 33 to 450 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 71 | |
| 50 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 34 | |
| 18 to 29 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 46 | |
| 26 to 35 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 39 | |
| 61 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 12 | |
| 7.9 to 13 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 4.4 to 5.5 | |
| 95.5 to 98.2 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.010 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 to 0.0050 | |
| 0 to 0.5 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 93.5 to 95.5 | |
| 1.7 to 2.4 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0.1 to 0.6 | |
| 0.1 to 0.5 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.0020 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 0 to 0.3 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |