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Zamak 2 vs. Silicon Carbide

Zamak 2 and silicon carbide belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Zamak 2 is a metal, while silicon carbide is a ceramic material. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 16 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (23, 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 Zamak 2 and the bottom bar is silicon carbide.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa 640
2780 to 3900
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 87
370 to 490
Knoop Hardness 130
2500 to 2900
Poisson's Ratio 0.26
0.14 to 0.21
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 360
210 to 370

Thermal Properties

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 95
500 to 1590
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 410
670 to 1180
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 110
120 to 170
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 28
4.0 to 4.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 6.5
3.0 to 3.2

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 7.5
69 to 84
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 23
79 to 82
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 15
18 to 34
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 17
24 to 38
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 41
38 to 79
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 11
6.9 to 18