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ASTM A36 Carbon Steel vs. Silicon Carbide

ASTM A36 carbon steel and silicon carbide belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. ASTM A36 carbon steel 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 14 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 ASTM A36 carbon steel and the bottom bar is silicon carbide.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 190
370 to 490
Poisson's Ratio 0.29
0.14 to 0.21
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 480
210 to 370

Thermal Properties

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 400
500 to 1590
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 470
670 to 1180
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 50
120 to 170
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 11
4.0 to 4.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 7.9
3.0 to 3.2

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
69 to 84
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 24
79 to 82
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17
18 to 34
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 17
24 to 38
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 14
38 to 79
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 16
6.9 to 18