Steatite
Steatite is an oxide-based engineering ceramic.
The properties of steatite include five common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare steatite to other oxide-based engineering ceramics (top) and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Thermal Properties
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
750 to 1230 °C 1380 to 2240 °F
Maximum Thermal Shock
90 to 160 °C 190 to 330 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
850 to 860 J/kg-K 0.2 to 0.21 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
1.8 to 2.5 W/m-K 1.0 to 1.5 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
7.0 to 9.0 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Dielectric Constant (Relative Permittivity) At 1 Hz
6.0
Dielectric Constant (Relative Permittivity) At 1 MHz
5.7 to 6.5
Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential)
7.9 to 16 kV/mm 0.31 to 0.61 V/mil
Electrical Dissipation At 1 Hz
0.0014 to 0.022
Electrical Dissipation At 1 MHz
0.0010 to 0.0060
Electrical Resistivity Order of Magnitude
8.0 to 11 10x Ω-m
Other Material Properties
Compressive (Crushing) Strength
540 to 620 MPa 78 to 90 x 103 psi
Density
1.9 to 2.8 g/cm3 120 to 170 lb/ft3
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
68 to 120 GPa 9.9 to 17 x 106 psi
Flexural Strength
32 to 150 MPa 4.6 to 21 x 103 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.23
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
60 to 220 MPa 8.6 to 32 x 103 psi
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
14 to 32 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
52 to 83 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
6.4 to 32 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
13 to 42 points
Thermal Diffusivity
0.79 to 1.1 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
5.1 to 33 points
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM C242: Standard Terminology of Ceramic Whitewares and Related Products
Ceramics and Composites: Processing Methods, Narottam P. Bansal and Aldo R. Boccaccini (editors), 2012
IEC 60672-3: Ceramic and glass-insulating materials - Part 3: Specifications for individual materials
Springer Handbook of Condensed Matter and Materials Data, W. Martienssen and H. Warlimont (editors), 2005
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015