Ferrite vs. Boron Carbide
Ferrite belongs to the oxide-based engineering ceramics classification, while boron carbide belongs to the non-oxide engineering ceramics. There are 18 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (2, 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 ferrite and the bottom bar is boron carbide.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Mechanical Properties
Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa | 430 to 2000 | |
1710 to 2200 |
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 120 to 140 | |
240 to 460 |
Flexural Strength, MPa | 120 to 150 | |
170 to 410 |
Fracture Toughness, MPa-m1/2 | 1.4 to 1.5 | |
2.5 to 3.5 |
Knoop Hardness | 630 to 700 | |
2600 to 3200 |
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 48 to 71 | |
350 |
Thermal Properties
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 710 to 1050 | |
950 |
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K | 3.9 to 6.3 | |
31 to 90 |
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K | 8.0 to 9.3 | |
4.5 to 5.6 |
Electrical Properties
Dielectric Constant (Relative Permittivity) At 1 MHz | 12 to 270 | |
6.4 |
Electrical Resistivity Order of Magnitude, 10x Ω-m | 1.0 to 1.5 | |
0 to 11 |
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Density, g/cm3 | 4.7 to 4.8 | |
2.1 to 2.7 |
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 to 16 | |
63 to 100 |
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 35 to 36 | |
91 to 100 |
Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 2.8 to 4.1 | |
37 to 47 |
Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 6.2 to 8.0 | |
42 to 53 |
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s | 0.78 to 1.9 | |
16 to 38 |
Thermal Shock Resistance, points | 3.0 to 4.6 | |
9.7 to 20 |