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Boron Carbide vs. Synthetic Sapphire

Boron carbide belongs to the non-oxide engineering ceramics classification, while synthetic sapphire belongs to the oxide-based engineering ceramics. There are 20 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (5, in this case) are not shown.

For each property being compared, the top bar is boron carbide and the bottom bar is synthetic sapphire.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa 1710 to 2200
2700
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 240 to 460
450
Flexural Strength, MPa 170 to 410
1090
Fracture Toughness, MPa-m1/2 2.5 to 3.5
1.9
Knoop Hardness 2600 to 3200
1860
Poisson's Ratio 0.17 to 0.19
0.28
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 350
2470

Thermal Properties

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 1000 to 2500
2000
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 950
760
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 31 to 90
30
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 4.5 to 5.6
5.3

Electrical Properties

Dielectric Constant (Relative Permittivity) At 1 MHz 6.4
10
Electrical Resistivity Order of Magnitude, 10x Ω-m 0 to 11
17

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 2.1 to 2.7
4.0

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 63 to 100
63
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 91 to 100
64
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 37 to 47
170
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 42 to 53
100
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 16 to 38
9.9
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 9.7 to 20
74