EV31A Magnesium vs. SAE-AISI A3 Steel
EV31A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while SAE-AISI A3 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 17 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (17, 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 EV31A magnesium and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI A3 steel.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 44 | |
| 190 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.27 | |
| 0.29 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 17 | |
| 73 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 260 | |
| 700 to 2150 |
Thermal Properties
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 590 | |
| 1410 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 1000 | |
| 470 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 86 | |
| 37 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 27 | |
| 12 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 18 | |
| 8.3 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 90 | |
| 9.7 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.8 | |
| 7.8 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 65 | |
| 25 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 40 | |
| 25 to 77 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 23 to 48 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 47 | |
| 10 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 16 | |
| 23 to 70 |