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Silicon Carbide vs. Silica Aerogel

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

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

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

Thermal Properties

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

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 3.0 to 3.2
0.1

Common Calculations

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