MakeItFrom.com
Menu (ESC)

Carbon-carbon vs. Zamak 2

Carbon-carbon and Zamak 2 belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Carbon-carbon is a ceramic material, while Zamak 2 is a metal. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 18 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (19, 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 carbon-carbon and the bottom bar is Zamak 2.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa 240
640
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 95
87
Poisson's Ratio 0.32
0.26
Shear Modulus, GPa 36
33
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 19
360

Thermal Properties

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 2400
95
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 760
410
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 40
110
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 4.0
28

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 0.090
25
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 0.48
35

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 1.7
6.5

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 31
7.5
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 89
23
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 3.0
15
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 9.1
17
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 31
41
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 3.5
11