MakeItFrom.com
Menu (ESC)

Alumina vs. Thermoplastic PI

Alumina and thermoplastic PI belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Alumina is a ceramic material, while thermoplastic PI is polymeric. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 9 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 alumina and the bottom bar is thermoplastic PI.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Material Properties

Density, g/cm3 3.4 to 4.1
1.4 to 1.5
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 220 to 370
3.7 to 20
Flexural Strength, MPa 260 to 430
170 to 330
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 870 to 940
970 to 1100
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 35 to 53
1.5 to 7.9
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 57 to 62
37 to 64
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 14 to 23
22 to 42
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 19 to 28
36 to 57
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 210 to 290
110 to 220