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2024 Aluminum vs. Silica Aerogel

2024 aluminum and silica aerogel belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. 2024 aluminum is a metal, while silica aerogel is a ceramic material. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 12 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (19, 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 2024 aluminum and the bottom bar is silica aerogel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 71
0.0050
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.2
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
0.0030
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 200 to 540
0.016

Thermal Properties

Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 120
0.016
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 23
2.0

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 3.0
0.1

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
0.028
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 46
57
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 18 to 50
0.044
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 25 to 49
1.4
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 8.6 to 24
110