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Balsa vs. PPA

Balsa belongs to the wood-based materials classification, while PPA belongs to the thermoplastics. There are 11 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (13, 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 balsa and the bottom bar is PPA.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 3.0
2.1 to 2.2
Elongation at Break, % 1.2
30
Poisson's Ratio 0.38
0.4
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 14
57 to 69

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1700
1400
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 0.1
0.15

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 0.13
1.1

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
1.0 to 1.1
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 30
14 to 17
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 99
29 to 33
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 0.45
0.095