Silicone Plastic
Silicone plastic is a thermoset plastic. It has the lowest heat capacity among thermoset plastics. In addition, it has a fairly high density and a fairly high dielectric strength. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare silicone plastic to other thermoset plastics (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.
Thermal Properties
Glass Transition Temperature
200 °C 390 °F
Maximum Temperature: Decomposition
480 °C 890 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
850 J/kg-K 0.2 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
0.35 W/m-K 0.2 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
35 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential)
30 kV/mm 1.2 V/mil
Electrical Resistivity Order of Magnitude
12 10x Ω-m
Other Material Properties
Density
1.9 g/cm3 120 lb/ft3
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
9.0 GPa 1.3 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
38 MPa 5.4 x 103 psi
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
2.6 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
36 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
5.5 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
13 points
Thermal Diffusivity
0.22 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
8.5 points
Followup Questions
Further Reading
Thermosets: Structure, Properties and Applications, Qipeng Guo (editor), 2012
Modern Plastics Handbook, Charles A. Harper (editor), 1999
Plastics Materials, 7th ed., J. A. Brydson, 1999