300°Csourceproducer's maximum application temperature (optical components)
Values for
Celanese Fortron 1140L4 (PPS, 40% glass fibre), injection moulding; FORTRON PPS Short-Term Properties Guide (PPS-012, 2016); thermal conductivity and Poisson for 40% glass-reinforced Fortron from the Fortron PPS Design Manual (PPS-050, 2013).
Synthetic single-crystal silicon (cubic, diamond structure), Korth Kristalle (crystal grower) material data; Korth usually supplies Floating Zone (FZ) material, Czochralski (Cz) also offered. Silicon is elastically anisotropic; the producer quotes one modulus and the solver is isotropic.
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 Plastic PPS GF40 stronger than Silicon?
Plastic PPS GF40 is stronger: its tensile strength is 195 MPa against 130 MPa for Silicon (1.5x).
Which is lighter, Plastic PPS GF40 or Silicon?
Plastic PPS GF40 is lighter: 1,650 kg/m³ against 2,329 kg/m³ for Silicon.
Which is stiffer, Plastic PPS GF40 or Silicon?
Silicon is stiffer: Young's modulus 131 GPa against 14.7 GPa for Plastic PPS GF40, so the same part in Silicon deflects less under the same load.
Which is lighter for the same job, Plastic PPS GF40 or Silicon?
For the same stiffness or strength: Plastic PPS GF40 is lighter for a strong rod or tie, strong beam, strong panel or plate; Silicon is lighter for a stiff rod or tie (tension), stiff beam (bending), stiff panel or plate.
Part that must be
Plastic PPS GF40
Silicon
Stiff rod or tie (tension)
6.31x heavier
lighter
Stiff beam (bending)
2.11x heavier
lighter
Stiff panel or plate
47% heavier
lighter
Strong rod or tie
lighter
2.12x heavier
Strong beam
lighter
1.85x heavier
Strong panel or plate
lighter
1.73x heavier
For the same stiffness or strength, mass scales with density over stiffness (or strength) raised to a power set by how the part is loaded: 1 for a rod in tension, 1/2 for a beam in bending, 1/3 for a panel (the standard material-selection indices).
Which conducts heat better, Plastic PPS GF40 or Silicon?
Silicon conducts heat better: 163 W/m·K against 0.2 W/m·K for Plastic PPS GF40.
Which expands less with temperature?
Silicon expands less: 2.62 µm/m·K against 12 µm/m·K for Plastic PPS GF40.