ZK61A Magnesium vs. 5040 Aluminum
ZK61A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while 5040 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys. There are 30 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is ZK61A magnesium and the bottom bar is 5040 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 46 | |
| 70 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 5.8 to 7.1 | |
| 5.7 to 6.8 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 120 to 140 | |
| 100 to 130 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.33 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 18 | |
| 26 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 170 to 180 | |
| 140 to 150 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 290 to 310 | |
| 240 to 260 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 180 to 200 | |
| 190 to 230 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 330 | |
| 400 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 120 | |
| 190 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
| 650 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 530 | |
| 600 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 960 | |
| 900 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 120 | |
| 160 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 27 | |
| 23 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 29 | |
| 41 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 130 | |
| 130 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 13 | |
| 9.5 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.9 | |
| 2.8 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 23 | |
| 8.3 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 160 | |
| 150 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 940 | |
| 1180 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 15 to 19 | |
| 14 to 15 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 370 to 420 | |
| 260 to 380 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 62 | |
| 50 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 42 to 45 | |
| 24 to 26 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 50 to 53 | |
| 31 to 32 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 65 | |
| 64 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 17 to 18 | |
| 10 to 11 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 0 | |
| 95.2 to 98 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 0.1 to 0.3 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 to 0.25 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.7 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 92.1 to 93.9 | |
| 1.0 to 1.5 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 | |
| 0.9 to 1.4 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.010 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.3 |
| Zinc (Zn), % | 5.5 to 6.5 | |
| 0 to 0.25 |
| Zirconium (Zr), % | 0.6 to 1.0 | |
| 0 |
| Residuals, % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.15 |