Carbon-carbon vs. 2024 Aluminum
Carbon-carbon and 2024 aluminum belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Carbon-carbon is a ceramic material, while 2024 aluminum is a metal. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 17 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (17, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is carbon-carbon and the bottom bar is 2024 aluminum.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 95 | |
| 71 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.32 | |
| 0.33 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 36 | |
| 27 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 19 | |
| 200 to 540 |
Thermal Properties
| Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C | 2400 | |
| 200 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 760 | |
| 880 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 40 | |
| 120 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 4.0 | |
| 23 |
Electrical Properties
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS | 0.090 | |
| 30 |
| Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS | 0.48 | |
| 90 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 1.7 | |
| 3.0 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 31 | |
| 13 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 89 | |
| 46 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 3.0 | |
| 18 to 50 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 9.1 | |
| 25 to 49 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 31 | |
| 46 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 3.5 | |
| 8.6 to 24 |