Soda-Lime (Float) Glass
Soda-lime glass is a glass-type material.
The properties of soda-lime glass include two common variations. This page shows summary ranges across both of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare soda-lime glass to other glass and glass-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
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
70 to 71 GPa 10 x 106 psi
Knoop Hardness
570
Poisson's Ratio
0.23
Shear Modulus
29 GPa 4.1 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
41 to 180 MPa 5.9 to 25 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
300 °C 570 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
720 to 800 J/kg-K 0.17 to 0.19 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
1.0 to 1.1 W/m-K 0.58 to 0.61 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
8.8 to 9.0 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Dielectric Constant (Relative Permittivity) At 1 MHz
7.3 to 7.4
Dielectric Strength (Breakdown Potential)
13 kV/mm 0.51 V/mil
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Density
2.4 g/cm3 150 lb/ft3
Light Transmission Range
0.35 to 2.5 µm
Refractive Index
1.5
Common Calculations
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
16 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
56 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
4.6 to 20 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
11 to 28 points
Thermal Diffusivity
0.51 to 0.6 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
4.7 to 20 points
Followup Questions
Further Reading
Glass Construction Manual, Christian Schittich et al., 1999
Dictionary of Glass: Materials and Techniques, Charles Bray, 2002
Glass: Mechanics and Technology, Eric Le Bourhis, 2007