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Silica Aerogel vs. Fused Silica

Silica aerogel belongs to the oxide-based engineering ceramics classification, while fused silica belongs to the glass and glass-ceramics. There are 12 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (14, 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 silica aerogel and the bottom bar is fused silica.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 0.0050
73
Poisson's Ratio 0.2
0.17
Shear Modulus, GPa 0.0030
31
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 0.016
50

Thermal Properties

Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 0.016
1.4
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 2.0
0.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 0.1
2.2

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 0.028
18
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 57
63
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 0.044
6.3
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 1.4
14
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 110
97