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Plywood vs. Steel AISI 1045

Compare Plywood vs. Steel AISI 1045 strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.

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PlywoodNatural
Steel AISI 1045Wrought
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Mechanical
Yield strengthnot given (tensile used)531MPasourceproducer-stated, cold drawn
Ultimate tensile strength41.4MPasourcemodulus of rupture (no direct tensile value)627MPasourceproducer-stated, cold drawn
Flexural strength41.4MPasourcestatic bending MOR (Douglas-fir); range 33.72-42.61 across speciesnot sourced
Elongation at breaknot sourced12%sourcein 2 in (50.8 mm)
Young's modulus (stiffness)7.45GPasourcestatic bending MOE of the panel (Douglas-fir); range 6.96-8.55 across species210GPasourcetypical
Densitynot sourced7,800kg/m³sourcetypical
Strength to weightnot sourced68.1kN·m/kg
Stiffness to weightnot sourced26.9MN·m/kg
Poisson's rationot sourced0.3sourcetypical
Shear modulusnot sourced80.8GPa
Bulk modulusnot sourced175GPa
Speed of soundnot sourced5,189m/s
Thermal
Thermal conductivity0.12W/m·KsourceAPA-recommended design value (Douglas-fir plywood), as reported by FPL/ORNL40–45W/m·Ksourcetypical range, ambient
Thermal expansion3.1–4.5µm/m·Ksourcebase material: solid wood parallel to grain, ovendry, range across species12µm/m·Ksourcetypical, mean 20-300 °C
100 mm part over a 50 °C swing19µm growth3.16x less60µm growth
Specific heat1,700J/kg·Ksourcebase material: solid wood (all species), 12% MC, 27 C460–480J/kg·Ksourcetypical range, 50/100 °C
Heats up and cools (diffusivity)not sourced11.6mm²/s
Thermal shock resistancenot sourced6,269W/m
Values forDouglas-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)AISI 1045 cold drawn bar (Niagara LaSalle) for mechanical; Ovako C45 (lists 'SAE 1045' as a similar designation) for physical constants

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 Plywood stronger than Steel AISI 1045?

Steel AISI 1045 is stronger: its yield strength is 531 MPa against tensile strength 41.4 MPa for Plywood (12.8x).

Which is stiffer, Plywood or Steel AISI 1045?

Steel AISI 1045 is stiffer: Young's modulus 210 GPa against 7.45 GPa for Plywood, so the same part in Steel AISI 1045 deflects less under the same load.

Which conducts heat better, Plywood or Steel AISI 1045?

Steel AISI 1045 conducts heat better: 42.5 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 12 µm/m·K for Steel AISI 1045.

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 C110GlassSteel 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 SteelSteel AISI 1045
Stiffness against density
1k10k101001kDensity (kg/m³)Yield strength (MPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonRubberAluminumSteelIronTitaniumSteel AISI 1018Stainless 304Stainless 316Aluminum 6061-T6Aluminum 7075-T6Brass C360Copper C110GlassSteel 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 SteelBrickSteel AISI 1045
Strength against density

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