Pyrolytic Boron Carbide
Pyrolytic boron carbide is a grade of boron carbide. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare pyrolytic boron carbide to other non-oxide 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.
Mechanical Properties
Compressive (Crushing) Strength
2120 MPa 310 x 103 psi
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
240 GPa 34 x 106 psi
Flexural Strength
170 MPa 25 x 103 psi
Fracture Toughness
3.5 MPa-m1/2 3.2 x 103 psi-in1/2
Knoop Hardness
3150
Poisson's Ratio
0.19
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
350 MPa 51 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
2500 °C 4530 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
2470 °C 4480 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
950 J/kg-K 0.23 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
31 W/m-K 18 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
5.3 µm/m-K
Other Material Properties
Density
2.1 g/cm3 130 lb/ft3
Dielectric Constant (Relative Permittivity) At 1 MHz
6.4
Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential)
56 kV/mm 2.2 V/mil
Electrical Resistivity Order of Magnitude
11 10x Ω-m
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
63 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
99 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
47 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
53 points
Thermal Diffusivity
16 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
20 points
Followup Questions
Further Reading
Handbook of Refractory Carbides and Nitrides: Properties, Characteristics, Processing and Applications, Hugh O. Pierson, 1996
Springer Handbook of Condensed Matter and Materials Data, W. Martienssen and H. Warlimont (editors), 2005
Sintering of Advanced Materials: Fundamentals and Processes, Zhigang Zak Fang (editor), 2010