MakeItFrom.com
Menu (ESC)

Carbon-carbon vs. Silica Aerogel

Carbon-carbon belongs to the non-oxide engineering ceramics classification, while silica aerogel belongs to the oxide-based engineering ceramics. There are 12 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (8, 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 carbon-carbon and the bottom bar is silica aerogel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 95
0.0050
Poisson's Ratio 0.32
0.2
Shear Modulus, GPa 36
0.0030
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 19
0.016

Thermal Properties

Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 40
0.016
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 4.0
2.0

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Density, g/cm3 1.7
0.1

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 31
0.028
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 89
57
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 3.0
0.044
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 9.1
1.4
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 3.5
110