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Cork vs. Grey Cast Iron

Cork and grey cast iron belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Cork is a polymeric material, while grey cast iron is a metal. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 15 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (17, 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 cork and the bottom bar is grey cast iron.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa 1.0
570 to 1290
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 0.020
180
Elongation at Break, % 15
9.6
Shear Modulus, GPa 0.010
69
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 0.85
160 to 450

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 2000
490
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 0.040
46
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 200
11

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 0.15
7.5

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 0.074
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 60
25
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 1.6
5.8 to 17
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 13
8.7 to 17
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 0.13
13
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 16
6.0 to 17