Materials / Compare

Iron vs. Wood

Compare Iron vs. Wood strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.

Change either side
IronWrought
WoodNatural
Try it on a partA bracket to run stress or thermal on, free in your browserOpen in LessCADOpen in LessCAD
Mechanical
Yield strength186MPasourcetypical (0.2% YS), hot rolled + SRA/recrystallization annealnot given (tensile used)
Ultimate tensile strength290MPasourcetypical, SRA/recrystallization anneal99MPasourcemodulus of rupture (no direct tensile value)
Compressive strengthnot sourced46.6MPasourcecompression parallel to grain (maximum crushing strength), 12% MC
Flexural strengthnot sourced99MPasourcemodulus of rupture (static bending), 12% MC
Elongation at break38%sourcetypical, gauge 4D0not sourced
Young's modulus (stiffness)207GPasourcetypical, after SRA/recrystallization anneal12.5GPasourcebending MOE, parallel to grain
Density7,860kg/m³sourcetypicalnot sourced
Strength to weight23.7kN·m/kgnot sourced
Stiffness to weight26.3MN·m/kgnot sourced
Poisson's ratio0.282sourceNIST critically evaluated best value (polycrystalline iron)0.35sourcemu_LR (red oak group, ~12% MC)
Shear modulus80.7GPa17.4x stiffer in shear4.63GPa
Bulk modulus158GPa13.9GPa
Speed of sound5,132m/snot sourced
Thermal
Thermal conductivity73.2W/m·Ksourcetypical at 20 °C0.18W/m·Ksourceacross grain, 12% MC (Table 4-7, approximate)
Thermal expansion13.7µm/m·Ksourcemean, 20-399 °C3.1–4.5µm/m·Ksourceparallel to grain, ovendry wood, range across species
100 mm part over a 50 °C swing68.5µm growth19µm growth3.61x less
Specific heat450J/kg·Ksourcetypical1,700J/kg·Ksourcesolid wood (all species), 12% MC, 27 C
Heats up and cools (diffusivity)20.7mm²/snot sourced
Thermal shock resistance3,447W/m14.1x more resistant244W/m
Melting point1,532°Csourcetypicalnot sourced
Values forCleveland-Cliffs / AK Steel ARMCO Pure Iron Product Data Bulletin (07/2022): Table 1 typical physical properties, Table 2 typical mechanical properties after SRA/recrystallization anneal.Northern red oak (Quercus rubra), clear straight-grained specimens at 12% MC, parallel to grain unless stated; USDA FPL Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 (2021) Ch. 4 and Ch. 5

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 Iron stronger than Wood?

Iron is stronger: its yield strength is 186 MPa against tensile strength 99 MPa for Wood (1.88x).

Which is stiffer, Iron or Wood?

Iron is stiffer: Young's modulus 207 GPa against 12.5 GPa for Wood, so the same part in Iron deflects less under the same load.

Which conducts heat better, Iron or Wood?

Iron conducts heat better: 73.2 W/m·K against 0.18 W/m·K for Wood.

Which expands less with temperature?

Wood expands less: 3.8 µm/m·K against 13.7 µm/m·K for Iron.

Among 59 materials

1k10k0.1110100Density (kg/m³)Young's modulus (GPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonAluminumSteelTitaniumSteel AISI 1018Stainless 304Stainless 316Aluminum 6061-T6Aluminum 7075-T6Brass C360Copper C110GlassSteel 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 SteelIron
Stiffness against density
1k10k101001kDensity (kg/m³)Yield strength (MPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonRubberAluminumSteelTitaniumSteel AISI 1018Stainless 304Stainless 316Aluminum 6061-T6Aluminum 7075-T6Brass C360Copper C110GlassSteel 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 SteelBrickIron
Strength against density

Related comparisons