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Borosilicate Glass vs. Silica Aerogel

Borosilicate glass belongs to the glass and glass-ceramics classification, while silica aerogel belongs to the oxide-based engineering ceramics. There are 11 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (18, 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 borosilicate glass and the bottom bar is silica aerogel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 67 to 80
0.0050
Poisson's Ratio 0.21
0.2
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 280
0.016

Thermal Properties

Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 1.2
0.016
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 3.3 to 5.1
2.0

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 2.2 to 2.6
0.1

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15 to 17
0.028
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 55 to 61
57
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 30 to 35
0.044
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 36 to 43
1.4
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 50 to 91
110