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Balsa vs. Monel 400

Balsa and Monel 400 belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Balsa is a polymeric material, while Monel 400 is a metal. 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 (20, 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 balsa and the bottom bar is Monel 400.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 3.0
160
Elongation at Break, % 1.2
20 to 40
Poisson's Ratio 0.38
0.32
Shear Modulus, GPa 0.23
62
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 14
540 to 780

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1700
430
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 0.1
23
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 6.5
14

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 0.13
8.9

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
10
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 30
17 to 25
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 99
17 to 21
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 0.45
6.1
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 51
17 to 25