MDF vs. Soda-lime Glass
MDF and soda-lime glass belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. MDF is a polymeric material, while soda-lime glass is ceramic. 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 (7, 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 soda-lime glass.
Mechanical Properties
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 4.0 | |
| 70 to 71 |
| Poisson's Ratio | 0.25 | |
| 0.23 |
| Shear Modulus, GPa | 2.5 | |
| 29 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 18 | |
| 41 to 180 |
Thermal Properties
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 1700 | |
| 720 to 800 |
| Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 0.3 | |
| 1.0 to 1.1 |
| Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 12 | |
| 8.8 to 9.0 |
Electrical Properties
| Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential), kV/mm | 0.5 | |
| 13 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 0.75 | |
| 2.4 |
Common Calculations
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 3.0 | |
| 16 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 71 | |
| 56 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 6.7 | |
| 4.6 to 20 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 20 | |
| 11 to 28 |
| Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 0.24 | |
| 0.51 to 0.6 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 27 | |
| 4.7 to 20 |