Materials / Compare

Plywood vs. Titanium

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

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PlywoodNatural
TitaniumWrought
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Mechanical
Yield strengthnot given (tensile used)885MPasourcetypical, plate (>0.187 in), annealed, 0.2% offset
Ultimate tensile strength41.4MPasourcemodulus of rupture (no direct tensile value)940MPasourcetypical, plate, annealed
Flexural strength41.4MPasourcestatic bending MOR (Douglas-fir); range 33.72-42.61 across speciesnot sourced
Elongation at breaknot sourced16%sourcetypical, in 2 in., plate annealed
Young's modulus (stiffness)7.45GPasourcestatic bending MOE of the panel (Douglas-fir); range 6.96-8.55 across species107–122GPasourcetypical range, 20 °C
Densitynot sourced4,430kg/m³sourcenominal
Strength to weightnot sourced200kN·m/kg
Stiffness to weightnot sourced25.8MN·m/kg
Poisson's rationot sourced0.342sourcemean of TIMET measurements
Shear modulusnot sourced42.7GPa
Bulk modulusnot sourced121GPa
Speed of soundnot sourced5,084m/s
Thermal
Thermal conductivity0.12W/m·KsourceAPA-recommended design value (Douglas-fir plywood), as reported by FPL/ORNL6.6W/m·Ksourcetypical, 20 °C, mill annealed
Thermal expansion3.1–4.5µm/m·Ksourcebase material: solid wood parallel to grain, ovendry, range across species9µm/m·Ksourcetypical, mean 0-100 °C
100 mm part over a 50 °C swing19µm growth2.37x less45µm growth
Specific heat1,700J/kg·Ksourcebase material: solid wood (all species), 12% MC, 27 C580J/kg·Ksourcetypical, 20 °C
Heats up and cools (diffusivity)not sourced2.57mm²/s
Thermal shock resistancenot sourced3,730W/m
Melting pointnot sourced1,630–1,650°Csourcemelting range
Max service temperaturenot sourced400°Csourceupper recommended use temperature
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)TIMETAL 6-4 (Ti-6Al-4V Grade 5) annealed plate typical (TIMET properties manual) + TIMET datasheet TMC-0150 physical properties

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 Titanium?

Titanium is stronger: its yield strength is 885 MPa against tensile strength 41.4 MPa for Plywood (21.4x).

Which is stiffer, Plywood or Titanium?

Titanium is stiffer: Young's modulus 115 GPa against 7.45 GPa for Plywood, so the same part in Titanium deflects less under the same load.

Which conducts heat better, Plywood or Titanium?

Titanium conducts heat better: 6.6 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 9 µm/m·K for Titanium.

Among 59 materials

1k10k0.1110100Density (kg/m³)Young's modulus (GPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonAluminumSteelIronSteel 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 SteelTitanium
Stiffness against density
1k10k101001kDensity (kg/m³)Yield strength (MPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonRubberAluminumSteelIronSteel 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 SteelBrickTitanium
Strength against density

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