Borosilicate Glass vs. 4115 Aluminum
Borosilicate glass and 4115 aluminum belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Borosilicate glass is a ceramic material, while 4115 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 (29, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is borosilicate glass and the bottom bar is 4115 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 67 to 80 | |
| 70 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.21 | |
| 0.33 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 280 | |
| 120 to 220 |
Thermal Properties
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 360 | |
| 160 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 560 | |
| 590 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 830 | |
| 900 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 1.2 | |
| 160 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 3.3 to 5.1 | |
| 23 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.2 to 2.6 | |
| 2.7 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 to 17 | |
| 14 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 55 to 61 | |
| 50 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 30 to 35 | |
| 12 to 23 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 36 to 43 | |
| 20 to 30 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 0.54 to 0.63 | |
| 66 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 50 to 91 | |
| 5.2 to 9.9 |