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Silica Aerogel vs. ZA-12

Silica aerogel and ZA-12 belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Silica aerogel is a ceramic material, while ZA-12 is a metal. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 12 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (24, 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 ZA-12.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 0.0050
83
Poisson's Ratio 0.2
0.26
Shear Modulus, GPa 0.0030
33
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 0.016
260 to 400

Thermal Properties

Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 0.016
120
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 2.0
24

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 0.1
6.0

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 0.028
7.6
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 57
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 0.044
12 to 19
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 1.4
15 to 20
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 110
9.4 to 14