Alumina vs. 2017 Aluminum
Alumina and 2017 aluminum belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Alumina is a ceramic material, while 2017 aluminum is a metal. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 15 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (26, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is alumina and the bottom bar is 2017 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 220 to 370 | |
| 71 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.22 to 0.24 | |
| 0.33 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 210 to 290 | |
| 190 to 430 |
Thermal Properties
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 650 to 1730 | |
| 190 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 2040 | |
| 510 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 870 to 940 | |
| 880 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 14 to 30 | |
| 150 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 6.7 to 8.2 | |
| 24 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 3.4 to 4.1 | |
| 3.0 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 35 to 53 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 57 to 62 | |
| 46 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 14 to 23 | |
| 17 to 40 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 19 to 28 | |
| 24 to 42 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 3.7 to 10 | |
| 56 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 4.9 to 14 | |
| 7.9 to 18 |