Borosilicate Glass vs. 5056 Aluminum
Borosilicate glass and 5056 aluminum belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Borosilicate glass is a ceramic material, while 5056 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 5056 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 67 to 80 | |
| 67 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.21 | |
| 0.33 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 280 | |
| 290 to 460 |
Thermal Properties
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 360 | |
| 190 |
| Melting Onset (Solidus), °C | 560 | |
| 570 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 830 | |
| 910 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 1.2 | |
| 130 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 3.3 to 5.1 | |
| 24 |
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 | |
| 51 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 30 to 35 | |
| 30 to 48 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 36 to 43 | |
| 36 to 50 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 0.54 to 0.63 | |
| 53 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 50 to 91 | |
| 13 to 20 |