This practice provides a system for the codification of unalloyed magnesium and magnesium alloys in the cast and wrought forms. Code designations shall be based on their chemical composition limits. For alloys, designations shall consist of not more than two letters representing the alloying elements specified in the greatest amount, followed by the respective percentages and a serial letter. The letters that represent the alloying elements are: A for aluminum; C for copper; E for rare earths; J for strontium; K for zirconium; L for lithium; M for manganese; Q for silver; S for silicon; T for tin; V for gadolinium; W for yttrium; and Z for zinc. For unalloyed metals, designations shall consist of the specified minimum purity, followed by a serial letter. For both cases, the full name of the base metal precedes the designation, but is omitted for brevity when the base metal being referred to is obvious.

1.1 This practice provides a system for designating unalloyed magnesium and magnesium-alloys that have been used commercially since 1952, and thus is intended to be the registration source for unalloyed magnesium and magnesium-alloys. A record of designations along with the established compositions is given in Table 2.

1.2 The equivalent Unified Numbering System (UNS) alloy designations shown in the appendixes are in accordance with Practice E527.