MakeItFrom.com
Menu (ESC)

Soda-lime Glass vs. Balsa

Soda-lime glass and balsa belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Soda-lime glass is a ceramic material, while balsa is polymeric. 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 (8, 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 soda-lime glass and the bottom bar is balsa.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70 to 71
3.0
Poisson's Ratio 0.23
0.38
Shear Modulus, GPa 29
0.23
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 41 to 180
14

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 720 to 800
1700
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 1.0 to 1.1
0.1
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 8.8 to 9.0
6.5

Electrical Properties

Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential), kV/mm 13
4.9

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 2.4
0.13

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 16
13
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 4.6 to 20
30
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 11 to 28
99
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 0.51 to 0.6
0.45
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 4.7 to 20
51