3003 Aluminum vs. Silicon Carbide
3003 aluminum and silicon carbide belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. 3003 aluminum is a metal, while silicon 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 silicon carbide.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 70 | |
| 370 to 490 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.14 to 0.21 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 110 to 240 | |
| 210 to 370 |
Thermal Properties
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 180 | |
| 500 to 1590 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 670 to 1180 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 180 | |
| 120 to 170 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 23 | |
| 4.0 to 4.5 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.8 | |
| 3.0 to 3.2 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 69 to 84 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 79 to 82 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 11 to 24 | |
| 18 to 34 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 18 to 30 | |
| 24 to 38 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 71 | |
| 38 to 79 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 4.7 to 10 | |
| 6.9 to 18 |