3003 Aluminum vs. Synthetic Sapphire
3003 aluminum and synthetic sapphire belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. 3003 aluminum is a metal, while synthetic sapphire is a ceramic material. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 16 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (25, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is 3003 aluminum and the bottom bar is synthetic sapphire.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 70 | |
| 450 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | |
| 0.28 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 26 | |
| 150 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 110 to 240 | |
| 2470 |
Thermal Properties
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 180 | |
| 2000 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 640 | |
| 2050 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 900 | |
| 760 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 180 | |
| 30 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 23 | |
| 5.3 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.8 | |
| 4.0 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 14 | |
| 63 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 50 | |
| 64 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 11 to 24 | |
| 170 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 18 to 30 | |
| 100 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 71 | |
| 9.9 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 4.7 to 10 | |
| 74 |