Thermo-electric Modules

Thermoelectric Reference Guide

Common Material Properties

Different materials have different thermal properties. You can use these thermal properties as factors to help model your thermal system. For your convenience, this page presents a list of common materials and their associated thermal properties. Follow the links below to view the material properties using your preferred measurement system

Common Material Properties Using English Measurement System

Common Material Properties at 70°F

Material Name Density
Lb/ft3		 Thermal
Conductivity
BTU/hr°F		 Specific
Heat
BTU/Lb-°F		 Thermal
Expansion
Coefficient
x10-6 in/in/°F
Air 0.074 0.015 0.24
Alumel 537 17 0.13 6.7
Alumina Ceramic-96% 223 20.4 0.20 3.6
Aluminum 169 118 0.215 12.5
Bakelite 80 0.134 0.38 12.2
Berylia Ceramic-99% 180 133 0.26 3.3
Bismuth Telluride 470 0.87 0.13 7.2
Brass 530 64 0.820 10.0
Bronze 509 37 0.104 10.0
Chromel 525 7.8 0.11 7.3
Concrete 180 0.63 0.156 8.0
Constantan 524 13 0.098 9.4
Copper 559 223 0.092 9.3
Earth (Course/Dry) 128 0.3 0.44
Glass (Common) 161 0.46 0.19 4.0
Glass Wool 12.5 0.023 0.16
Gold 1206 179 0.03 7.9
Graphite 160 3.3 0.20 2.0
Iron (Cast) 450 48 0.11 5.8
Kovar 522 9.6 0.11 2.8
Lead 700 20 0.031 16.3
Nickel 556 52 0.107 6.6
Oil (light) 57 0.077 0.43
Plexiglass (Acrylic) 88 0.15 0.346 41.0
Polyurethane Foam 1.8 0.02 0.27
Rubber 60 0.09 0.48 40.0
Saw Dust 12 0.034
Solder (Tin/Lead) 580 28 0.04 13.4
Stainless Steel 500 8 0.11 9.5
Steel (Low Carbon) 490 28 0.11 6.4
Thermal Grease 150 0.5 0.50
Tin 456 37 0.054 13.0
Vermiculite (Loose) 8.2 0.038
Water (@70°F) 62.4 0.35 1.000
Wood (Oak) 38 0.085 0.57 2.7
Wood (Pine) 32 0.065 0.67 3.0
Zinc 446 65 0.091 18.0

Conversion Factors

Property To Obtain Multiply By
Density gm/cm3 Lb/ft3 0.01602
Thermal Conductivity w/m- C
w/cm2-
°C/cm		 BTU/hr-ft-°F
BTU/hr-ft-°F		 1.730
0.0173
Specific Heat cal/gm-°C BTU/lb-°F 1.000
Thermal Expansion cm/cm/°C in/in/°F 1.800

View Common Material Properties Using Metric Measurement System

Material Properties at 21°C (Metric)

Material Name Density
gm/cm		 Thermal
Conductivity
Watts/m-°C		 Specific
Heat
cal/gm-°C		 Thermal
Expansion
Coefficient
x10-6 cm/cm/°C
Air 0.0012 0.026 0.24
Alumel 8.60 29.4 0.13 12.1
Alumina Ceramic-96% 3.57 35.3 0.20 6.5
Aluminum 2.71 204 0.215 22.5
Bakelite 1.28 0.23 0.38 22
Berylia Ceramic-99% 2.88 230 0.26 5.9
Bismuth Telluride 7.53 1.5 0.13 7.2
Brass 8.49 111 0.082 18
Bronze 8.15 64 0.104 18
Chromel 8.41 13.5 0.11 13.1
Concrete 2.88 1.09 0.156 14.4
Constantan 8.39 22.5 0.098 16.9
Copper 8.96 386 0.092 16.7
Earth (Course/Dry) 2.05 0.52 0.44
Glass (Common) 2.58 0.8 0.19 7
Glass Wool 0.20 0.04 0.16
Gold 19.32 310 0.03 14.2
Graphite 2.56 5.7 0.20 3.6
Iron (Cast) 7.21 83 0.11 10.4
Kovar 8.36 16.6 0.11 5
Lead 11.21 35 0.031 29.3
Nickel 8.91 90 0.107 11.9
Oil (light) 0.91 0.13 0.43
Plexiglass (Acrylic) 1.41 0.26 0.35 74
Polyurethane Foam 0.029 0.035 0.27
Rubber 0.96 0.16 0.48 72
Saw Dust 0.19 0.059
Solder (Tin/Lead) 9.29 48 0.04 24.1
Stainless Steel 8.01 13.8 0.11 17.1
Steel (Low Carbon) 7.85 48 0.11 11.5
Thermal Grease 2.40 0.87 0.50
Tin 7.31 64 0.054 23.4
Vermiculite (Loose) 0.13 0.066
Water (@70°F) 1.00 0.61 1.00
Wood (Oak) 0.61 0.15 0.57 4.9
Wood (Pine) 0.51 0.11 0.67 5.4
Zinc 7.15 112 0.09 32.4

Conversion Factors

Property To Obtain Multiply By
Density Lb/ft3 gm/cm3 62.43
Thermal Conductivity BTU/hr-ft-°F
BTU/hr-ft-°F		 w/m-°C
w/cm2-°
C/cm		 0.578
57.80
Specific Heat BTU/lb-°F cal/gm-°C 1.000
Thermal Expansion in/in/°F cm/cm/°C 0.555