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Boron Carbide vs. Silica Aerogel

Boron carbide belongs to the non-oxide engineering ceramics classification, while silica aerogel belongs to the oxide-based engineering ceramics. There are 11 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (10, 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 silica aerogel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 240 to 460
0.0050
Poisson's Ratio 0.17 to 0.19
0.2
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 350
0.016

Thermal Properties

Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 31 to 90
0.016
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 4.5 to 5.6
2.0

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 2.1 to 2.7
0.1

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 63 to 100
0.028
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 91 to 100
57
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 37 to 47
0.044
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 42 to 53
1.4
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 9.7 to 20
110