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MDF vs. Glass-bonded Mica

MDF and glass-bonded mica belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. MDF is a polymeric material, while glass-bonded mica is ceramic. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 14 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (10, 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 MDF and the bottom bar is glass-bonded mica.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa 10
270
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 4.0
71
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 18
39

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1700
500
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 0.3
23
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 12
6.7

Electrical Properties

Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential), kV/mm 0.5
20

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 0.75
2.6

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 3.0
15
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 71
52
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 6.7
4.1
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 20
9.7
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 0.24
18
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 27
5.9