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Alumina vs. UHMW-PE

Alumina and UHMW-PE belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Alumina is a ceramic material, while UHMW-PE is polymeric. 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 (12, 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 alumina and the bottom bar is UHMW-PE.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 220 to 370
0.8
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210 to 290
49

Thermal Properties

Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 2040
130
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870 to 940
1750
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 14 to 30
0.41
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 6.7 to 8.2
180

Electrical Properties

Dielectric Constant (Relative Permittivity) At 1 Hz 8.0 to 9.0
2.2
Electrical Dissipation At 1 Hz 0.00031 to 0.0011
0.045
Electrical Dissipation At 1 MHz 0.00049 to 0.0013
0.053

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 3.4 to 4.1
0.94

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 53
0.47
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 57 to 62
33
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 14 to 23
14
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 19 to 28
32
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 3.7 to 10
0.25
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 4.9 to 14
25