ZK61A Magnesium vs. 5456 Aluminum
ZK61A magnesium belongs to the magnesium alloys classification, while 5456 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 5456 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 46 | |
| 68 |
| Elongation at Break, % | 5.8 to 7.1 | |
| 11 to 18 |
| Fatigue Strength, MPa | 120 to 140 | |
| 130 to 210 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.29 | |
| 0.33 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 18 | |
| 26 |
| Shear Strength, MPa | 170 to 180 | |
| 190 to 210 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 290 to 310 | |
| 320 to 340 |
| Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa | 180 to 200 | |
| 150 to 250 |
Thermal Properties
| Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g | 330 | |
| 390 |
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 120 | |
| 190 |
| Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C | 640 | |
| 640 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 530 | |
| 570 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 960 | |
| 900 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 120 | |
| 120 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 27 | |
| 24 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 29 | |
| 29 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 130 | |
| 97 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Base Metal Price, % relative | 13 | |
| 9.5 |
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.9 | |
| 2.7 |
| Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material | 23 | |
| 9.0 |
| Embodied Energy, MJ/kg | 160 | |
| 150 |
| Embodied Water, L/kg | 940 | |
| 1170 |
Common Calculations
| Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 | 15 to 19 | |
| 33 to 46 |
| Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 | 370 to 420 | |
| 170 to 470 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 13 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 62 | |
| 50 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 42 to 45 | |
| 33 to 35 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 50 to 53 | |
| 38 to 40 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 65 | |
| 48 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 17 to 18 | |
| 14 to 15 |
Alloy Composition
| Aluminum (Al), % | 0 | |
| 92 to 94.8 |
| Chromium (Cr), % | 0 | |
| 0.050 to 0.2 |
| Copper (Cu), % | 0 to 0.1 | |
| 0 to 0.1 |
| Iron (Fe), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.4 |
| Magnesium (Mg), % | 92.1 to 93.9 | |
| 4.7 to 5.5 |
| Manganese (Mn), % | 0 | |
| 0.5 to 1.0 |
| Nickel (Ni), % | 0 to 0.010 | |
| 0 |
| Silicon (Si), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.25 |
| Titanium (Ti), % | 0 | |
| 0 to 0.2 |
| 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 |