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Silica Aerogel vs. Silicon Carbide

Silica aerogel belongs to the oxide-based engineering ceramics classification, while silicon carbide belongs to the non-oxide 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 silica aerogel and the bottom bar is silicon carbide.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 0.0050
370 to 490
Poisson's Ratio 0.2
0.14 to 0.21
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 0.016
210 to 370

Thermal Properties

Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 0.016
120 to 170
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 2.0
4.0 to 4.5

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 0.1
3.0 to 3.2

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 0.028
69 to 84
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 57
79 to 82
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 0.044
18 to 34
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 1.4
24 to 38
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 110
6.9 to 18