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Balsa vs. Thermoplastic PI

Balsa belongs to the wood-based materials classification, while thermoplastic PI belongs to the thermoplastics. There are 8 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (15, 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 thermoplastic PI.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Material Properties

Density, g/cm3 0.13
1.4 to 1.5
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 3.0
3.7 to 20
Elongation at Break, % 1.2
1.8 to 7.5
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 1700
970 to 1100
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 13
1.5 to 7.9
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 30
22 to 42
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 99
36 to 57
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 14
110 to 220