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Boron Carbide vs. SAE-AISI 1010 Steel

Boron carbide and SAE-AISI 1010 steel belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Boron carbide is a ceramic material, while SAE-AISI 1010 steel 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 (24, 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 boron carbide and the bottom bar is SAE-AISI 1010 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 240 to 460
190
Poisson's Ratio 0.17 to 0.19
0.29
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 350
350 to 400

Thermal Properties

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 1000 to 2500
400
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 950
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 31 to 90
47
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 4.5 to 5.6
12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 2.1 to 2.7
7.9

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 63 to 100
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 91 to 100
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 37 to 47
12 to 14
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 42 to 53
14 to 15
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 16 to 38
13
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 9.7 to 20
11 to 13