Materials / Compare

Glass vs. Plywood

Compare Glass vs. Plywood strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.

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GlassNatural
PlywoodNatural
Try it on a partA panel to run stress or thermal on, free in your browserOpen in LessCADOpen in LessCAD
Mechanical
Yield strengthnot given (tensile used)not given (tensile used)
Ultimate tensile strength41MPasourcetypical mean surface tensile stress at fracture (MOR), 60 s load, weathered, 50% breakage probability41.4MPasourcemodulus of rupture (no direct tensile value)
Flexural strength41MPasourcemean MOR (same value as tensile)41.4MPasourcestatic bending MOR (Douglas-fir); range 33.72-42.61 across species
Elongation at breaknot sourcednot sourced
Young's modulus (stiffness)72GPasourcetypical7.45GPasourcestatic bending MOE of the panel (Douglas-fir); range 6.96-8.55 across species
Density2,500kg/m³sourcetypicalnot sourced
Strength to weight16.4kN·m/kgnot sourced
Stiffness to weight28.8MN·m/kgnot sourced
Poisson's ratio0.22sourcetypicalnot sourced
Shear modulus29.5GPanot sourced
Bulk modulus42.9GPanot sourced
Speed of sound5,367m/snot sourced
Thermal
Thermal conductivity0.937W/m·Ksourcetypical at 75 F0.12W/m·KsourceAPA-recommended design value (Douglas-fir plywood), as reported by FPL/ORNL
Thermal expansion8.3µm/m·Ksourcetypical, 75-575 F3.1–4.5µm/m·Ksourcebase material: solid wood parallel to grain, ovendry, range across species
100 mm part over a 50 °C swing41.5µm growth19µm growth2.18x less
Specific heat880J/kg·Ksourcetypical at 75 F1,700J/kg·Ksourcebase material: solid wood (all species), 12% MC, 27 C
Heats up and cools (diffusivity)0.426mm²/snot sourced
Thermal shock resistance50.1W/mnot sourced
Max service temperature511°Csourcestrain point (ASTM C336) - stress-relaxation onset, not a rated service limitnot sourced
Values forAnnealed soda-lime-silica float glass, Pilkington North America Technical Bulletin ATS-129 (04/2025)Douglas-fir plywood sheathing (construction plywood per PS 1), static bending properties from USDA FPL Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 Ch. 12 Table 12-2 (Biblis 2000)

Every value links to the document that states it. "Not sourced" means no citable source states it (or only a specification minimum); figures computed from it are left out too.

Questions

Is Glass stronger than Plywood?

Plywood is stronger: its tensile strength is 41.4 MPa against 41 MPa for Glass (1%).

Which is stiffer, Glass or Plywood?

Glass is stiffer: Young's modulus 72 GPa against 7.45 GPa for Plywood, so the same part in Glass deflects less under the same load.

Which conducts heat better, Glass or Plywood?

Glass conducts heat better: 0.937 W/m·K against 0.12 W/m·K for Plywood.

Which expands less with temperature?

Plywood expands less: 3.8 µm/m·K against 8.3 µm/m·K for Glass.

Among 59 materials

1k10k0.1110100Density (kg/m³)Young's modulus (GPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonAluminumSteelIronTitaniumSteel AISI 1018Stainless 304Stainless 316Aluminum 6061-T6Aluminum 7075-T6Brass C360Copper C110Steel AISI 1045Steel AISI 4340Steel A992Stainless 303Stainless 17-4PHAluminum 2024-T351Aluminum 5052-H32Aluminum 7050-T7451Titanium Ti-6Al-4VBrass C260Nickel Inconel 718Magnesium AZ31B-H24Zinc Zamak 3Plastic ABS (bulk/injection)Plastic PolycarbonatePlastic POM/AcetalPlastic Nylon PA6Plastic Nylon PA66Plastic PEEKPlastic UHMWPEPlastic HDPEPlastic PolypropylenePlastic PMMAFDM ASAFDM PolycarbonateFDM PAHT-CFFDM HIPSSLA Resin Tough 2000SLS PA12 NylonDMLS AlSi10Mg AluminumDMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI TitaniumDMLS 316L Stainless SteelDMLS 17-4PH Stainless SteelGlass
Stiffness against density
1k10k101001kDensity (kg/m³)Yield strength (MPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonRubberAluminumSteelIronTitaniumSteel AISI 1018Stainless 304Stainless 316Aluminum 6061-T6Aluminum 7075-T6Brass C360Copper C110Steel AISI 1045Steel AISI 4340Steel A992Stainless 303Stainless 17-4PHAluminum 2024-T351Aluminum 5052-H32Aluminum 7050-T7451Titanium Ti-6Al-4VBrass C260Nickel Inconel 718Magnesium AZ31B-H24Zinc Zamak 3Plastic ABS (bulk/injection)Plastic PolycarbonatePlastic POM/AcetalPlastic Nylon PA6Plastic Nylon PA66Plastic PEEKPlastic PTFEPlastic UHMWPEPlastic HDPEPlastic PolypropylenePlastic PMMAFDM ASAFDM PolycarbonateFDM PAHT-CFFDM HIPSSLA Resin Tough 2000SLA Resin Elastic 50ASLS PA12 NylonDMLS AlSi10Mg AluminumDMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI TitaniumDMLS 316L Stainless SteelDMLS 17-4PH Stainless SteelBrickGlass
Strength against density

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