3003 Aluminum vs. Boron Carbide
3003 aluminum and boron carbide belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. 3003 aluminum is a metal, while boron carbide is a ceramic material. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 14 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (24, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is 3003 aluminum and the bottom bar is boron carbide.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 70 | |
| 240 to 460 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.17 to 0.19 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 110 to 240 | |
| 350 |
Thermal Properties
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 180 | |
| 1000 to 2500 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 950 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 180 | |
| 31 to 90 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 23 | |
| 4.5 to 5.6 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.8 | |
| 2.1 to 2.7 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 63 to 100 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 91 to 100 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 11 to 24 | |
| 37 to 47 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 18 to 30 | |
| 42 to 53 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 71 | |
| 16 to 38 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 4.7 to 10 | |
| 9.7 to 20 |