Carbon-Carbon
Carbon-carbon is a non-oxide engineering ceramic. It has the lowest density among non-oxide engineering ceramics. In addition, it has a moderately low heat capacity and a moderately low thermal conductivity. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare carbon-carbon to other non-oxide engineering ceramics (top) and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Mechanical Properties
Compressive (Crushing) Strength
240 MPa 34 x 103 psi
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
95 GPa 14 x 106 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.32
Shear Modulus
36 GPa 5.2 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
19 MPa 2.7 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Maximum Temperature: Corrosion
350 °C 660 °F
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
2400 °C 4350 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
760 J/kg-K 0.18 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
40 W/m-K 23 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
4.0 µm/m-K
Other Material Properties
Density
1.7 g/cm3 110 lb/ft3
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
0.090 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
0.48 % IACS
Electrical Resistivity Order of Magnitude
-5.0 10x Ω-m
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
31 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
89 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
3.0 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
9.1 points
Thermal Diffusivity
31 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
3.5 points
Followup Questions
Further Reading
Carbon Alloys: Novel Concepts to Develop Carbon Science and Technology, E. Yesuda et al. (editors), 2003
Carbon-Carbon Materials and Composites, John D. Buckley and Dan D. Edie, 1994
Springer Handbook of Condensed Matter and Materials Data, W. Martienssen and H. Warlimont (editors), 2005