EQ21A Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI 1146 Steel
EQ21A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI 1146 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (5, 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 EQ21A magnesium and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1146 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Brinell Hardness | 80 | |
190 to 200 |
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 44 | |
190 |
Elongation at Break, % | 2.4 | |
13 to 17 |
Fatigue Strength, MPa | 110 | |
240 to 400 |
Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
0.29 |
Shear Modulus, GPa | 17 | |
72 |
Shear Strength, MPa | 150 | |
410 to 440 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 250 | |
670 to 730 |
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 190 | |
360 to 630 |
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 340 | |
250 |
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 160 | |
400 |
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
1460 |
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 560 | |
1420 |
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 980 | |
470 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 110 | |
51 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 27 | |
13 |
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 25 | |
7.1 |
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 120 | |
8.1 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price, % relative | 80 | |
1.8 |
Density, g/cm3 | 1.9 | |
7.8 |
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 27 | |
1.4 |
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 210 | |
18 |
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 5.6 | |
93 to 97 |
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 410 | |
340 to 1050 |
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
13 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 63 | |
24 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 37 | |
24 to 26 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 47 | |
22 to 23 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 62 | |
14 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 15 | |
20 to 22 |
Alloy Composition
Carbon (C), % | 0 | |
0.42 to 0.49 |
Copper (Cu), % | 0.050 to 0.1 | |
0 |
Iron (Fe), % | 0 | |
98.3 to 98.8 |
Magnesium (Mg), % | 93.9 to 96.8 | |
0 |
Manganese (Mn), % | 0 | |
0.7 to 1.0 |
Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.010 | |
0 |
Phosphorus (P), % | 0 | |
0 to 0.040 |
Silver (Ag), % | 1.3 to 1.7 | |
0 |
Sulfur (S), % | 0 | |
0.080 to 0.13 |
Unspecified Rare Earths, % | 1.5 to 3.0 | |
0 |
Zirconium (Zr), % | 0.4 to 1.0 | |
0 |
Residuals, % | 0 to 0.3 | |
0 |