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Granite vs. MDF

Granite and MDF belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Granite is a ceramic material, while MDF is polymeric. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 16 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, 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 granite and the bottom bar is MDF.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa 2200
10
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70
4.0
Poisson's Ratio 0.25
0.25
Shear Modulus, GPa 27
2.5
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 39
18

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 840
1700
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 2.7
0.3
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 7.4
12

Electrical Properties

Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential), kV/mm 8.5
0.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 2.9
0.75

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 14
3.0
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 48
71
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 3.8
6.7
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 9.0
20
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 1.1
0.24
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 5.4
27