Carbon-carbon vs. Aluminum Nitride

Both carbon-carbon and aluminum nitride are non-oxide engineering ceramics. There are 12 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (16, in this case) are not shown.

For each property being compared, the top bar is carbon-carbon and the bottom bar is aluminum nitride.

Carbon-Carbon Aluminum Nitride (AlN)

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa		240
Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa		2100

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa		95
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa		330

Poisson's Ratio		0.32
Poisson's Ratio		0.21 to 0.31

Thermal Properties

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C		2400
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C		1380

Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K		760
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K		780

Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K		40
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K		80 to 190

Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K		4.0
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K		4.2 to 5.4

Electrical Properties

Electrical Resistivity Order of Magnitude, 10^x Ω-m		-5.0
Electrical Resistivity Order of Magnitude, 10^x Ω-m		10 to 12

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm³		1.7
Density, g/cm³		2.9 to 3.3

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points		31
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points		55 to 63

Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points		89
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points		69 to 80

Thermal Diffusivity, mm²/s		31
Thermal Diffusivity, mm²/s		31 to 74