Copper and Copper Alloys - Introduction to Copper and its Alloys

Copper is the oldest metal used by man. It’s use dates ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY
back to prehistoric times. Copper has been mined for
more than 10,000 years with a Copper pendant found The electrical conductivity of copper is second only to
in current day Iraq being dated to 8700BC. By 5000BC silver. The conductivity of Copper is 97% of the
Copper was being smelted from simple Copper Oxides. conductivity of Silver. Due to its much lower cost and
greater abundance, Copper has traditionally been the
Copper is found as native metal and in minerals standard material used for electricity transmission
cuprite, malachite, azurite, chalcopyrite and bornite. It applications.
is also often a by-product of silver production. However, weight considerations mean that a large
Sulphides, oxides and carbonates are the most proportion of overhead high voltage power lines now
important ores. use Aluminium rather than Copper. By weight, the
conductivity of Aluminium is around twice that of
Copper and Copper alloys are some of the most Copper. The Aluminium alloys used do have a low
versatile engineering materials available. The strength and need to be reinforced with a galvanised or
combination of physical properties such as strength, Aluminium coated high tensile steel wire in each
conductivity, corrosion resistance, machinability and strand.
ductility make Copper suitable for a wide range of Although additions of other elements will improve
applications. These properties can be further enhanced properties like strength, there will be some loss in
with variations in composition and manufacturing electrical conductivity. As an example a 1% addition of
methods. Cadmium can increase strength by 50%. However, this
will result in a corresponding decrease in electrical
The largest end use for Copper is in the building conductivity of 15%.
industry. Within the building industry the use of copper
based materials is broad. Construction industry related
applications for Copper include: CASTING
~ Roofing The nature of the casting process means that most
~ Cladding cast Copper alloys have a greater range of alloying
~ Rainwater systems elements than wrought alloys.
~ Heating systems
~ Water pipes and fittings
~ Oil and gas lines APPLICATIONS
~ Electrical wiring Copper and Copper alloys can be used in an
extraordinary range of applications. Some of the
JOINING applications fro Copper include:

Commonly employed processes such as brazing,

~ Power transmission lines
welding and soldering can be used to join most Copper
~ Architectural applications
alloys. Soldering is often used for electrical
~ Cooking utensils
connections. High Lead content alloys are unsuitable
~ Spark plugs
for welding.
~ Electrical wiring, cables and busbars
Copper and Copper alloys can also be joined using
~ High conductivity wires
mechanical means such as rivets and screws.
~ Electrodes
~ Heat exchangers
~ Refrigeration tubing
~ Plumbing
~ Water-cooled Copper crucibles

In addition, there are many more applications for the

Copper Alloys - Brass and Bronze

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Copper and Copper Alloys - Introduction to Copper and its Alloys

SURFACE OXIDATION / PATINATION PROPERTIES OF COPPER ALLOYS

Most Copper alloys will develop a blue-green patina Key Properties of Copper Alloys
when exposed to the elements outdoors. Typical of this Copper is a tough, ductile and malleable material.
is the colour of the Copper Statue of Liberty in New These properties make copper extremely suitable for
York. Some Copper alloys will darken after prolonged tube forming, wire drawing, spinning and deep
exposure to the elements and take on a brown to black drawing. The other key properties exhibited by Copper
colour. and its alloys include:
Lacquer coatings can be used to protect the surface ~ Excellent heat conductivity
and retain the original alloy colour. An acrylic coating ~ Excellent electrical conductivity
with benzotriazole as an additive will last several years ~ Good corrosion resistance
under most outdoor, abrasion-free conditions. ~ Good biofouling resistance
~ Good machinability
~ Retention of mechanical and electrical properties
STRUCTURE
at cryogenic temperatures
Copper has a face centred cubic (FCC) crystal ~ Non-magnetic
structure. Copper and its alloys have a range of
yellow/gold/red colours and when polished develop a Other Properties
bright metallic lustre. ~ Copper and Copper alloys have a peculiar smell
and disagreeable taste. These may be transferred by
contact and therefore should be kept clear of
HOT & COLD WORKING
foodstuffs, although some cooking pans do use these
Although able to be work hardened, Copper and metals.
Copper alloys can be both hot and cold worked. ~ Most commercially used metals have a metallic
Ductility can be restored by annealing. This can be white or silver colour. Copper and Copper alloys have a
done either by a specific annealing process or by range of yellow/gold/red colours.
incidental annealing through welding or brazing
procedures. Melting Point
The melting point for pure Copper is 1083ºC.

CORROSION RESISTANCE
All Copper alloys resist corrosion by fresh water and
steam. In most rural, marine and industrial
atmospheres Copper alloys are also resistant to
corrosion. Copper is resistant to saline solutions, soils,
non-oxidising minerals, organic acids and caustic
solutions. Moist ammonia, halogens, sulphides,
solutions containing ammonia ions and oxidising acids,
like nitric acid, will attack Copper. Copper alloys also
have poor resistance to inorganic acids.
The corrosion resistance of Copper alloys comes from
the formation of adherent films on the material
surface. These films are relatively impervious to
corrosion therefore protecting the base metal from
further attack.
Copper Nickel alloys, Aluminium Brass, and Aluminium
Bronzes demonstrate superior resistance to saltwater
corrosion.

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Copper and Copper Alloys - Introduction to Copper and its Alloys

WROUGHT COPPER ALLOYS YIELD STRENGTH

Wrought copper alloys are produced using a variety of The yield point for Copper alloys is not sharply defined.
different production methods. These methods including As a result it tends to be reported as either a 0.5%
processes such as rolling, extrusion, drawing and extension under load or as 0.2% offset.
stamping. Such processes may be followed by Most commonly the 0.5% extension yield strength of
annealing (softening), cold working, hardening by heat annealed material registers as approximately one-third
treatments or stress relieving to achieve the desired the tensile strength. Hardening by cold working means
properties. the material becomes less ductile, and yield strength
approaches the tensile strength.

COPPER USAGE
RECYCLING
The building industry is the largest single consumer of
Copper alloys. The following list is a breakdown of Copper alloys are highly suited to recycling. Around
Copper consumption by industry on an annual basis: 40% of the annual consumption of Copper alloys is
~ Building industry – 47% derived from recycled Copper materials.
~ Electronic products - 23% The recycling rate for Free Machining Brass
~ Transportation - 10% (CZ121/CW614N) is particularly high with clean/dry
~ Consumer products - 11% swarf having a high value, which contributes to the
~ Industrial machinery - 9% cost-benefit calculations in material selection.

There are around 370 commercial compositions for

Copper alloys. The most common alloy tends to be
C106/ CW024A - the standard water tube grade of
Copper.

World consumption of Copper and Copper alloys now

exceeds 18 million tonnes per annum.

TEMPER
Copper alloys can be specified according to temper
levels. The temper is imparted by cold working and
subsequent degrees of annealing.
Typical tempers for Copper alloys are
~ Soft
~ Half-hard
~ Hard
~ Spring
~ Extra-spring.

Yield strength of a hard-temper Copper alloy is

approximately two-thirds of the materials’ tensile
strength.

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Copper and Copper Alloys - Introduction to Copper and its Alloys

CONTACT

Address: Wilsons Ltd

Nordic House
Old Great North Road
Huntingdon
PE28 5XN
Tel: +44 (0)1480 456421
Email: sales@wilsonsmetals.com
Web: www.wilsonsmetals.com

REVISION HISTORY

Datasheet Updated 13 November 2018

DISCLAIMER
This Data is indicative only and as such is not to be relied upon in place of
the full specification. In particular, mechanical property requirements vary
widely with temper, product and product dimensions. All information is
based on our present knowledge and is given in good faith. No liability will
be accepted by the Company in respect of any action taken by any third
party in reliance thereon.

Please note that the 'Datasheet Update' date shown above is no guarantee
of accuracy or whether the datasheet is up to date.

The information provided in this datasheet has been drawn from various
recognised sources, including EN Standards, recognised industry references
(printed & online) and manufacturers’ data. No guarantee is given that the
information is from the latest issue of those sources or about the accuracy of
those sources.

Material supplied by the Company may vary significantly from this data, but
will conform to all relevant and applicable standards.

As the products detailed may be used for a wide variety of purposes and as
the Company has no control over their use; the Company specifically
excludes all conditions or warranties expressed or implied by statute or
otherwise as to dimensions, properties and/or fitness for any particular
purpose, whether expressed or implied.

Advice given by the Company to any third party is given for that party’s
assistance only and without liability on the part of the Company. All
transactions are subject to the Company’s current Conditions of Sale. The
extent of the Company’s liabilities to any customer is clearly set out in those
Conditions; a copy of which is available on request.

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 Copper Designations
Copper and Copper Alloys - Introduction toUNS Designations
Copper and its Alloys
Designation systems for Copper are not
specifications, but methods for identifying The method for designating Copper alloys is
chemical compositions. Property an expansion upon the system developed
requirements are covered in EN, ASTM, by the US Copper and Brass industry using
government and military standards for each five digits preceded by the letter C.
composition. UNS Numbers Types Alloy Names
The alloy designation system used in the C10000-C19999 Wrought
Coppers, High-
UK and across Europe uses a 6 character Copper Alloys
alpha-numeric series. C20000-C49999 Wrought Brasses
st
The 1 letter is C for Copper-based material Phosphor
C50000-C59999 Wrought
Bronzes

The second letter indicates the product Aluminium

C60600-C64200 Wrought
Bronzes
form:
‹ B = Ingot for re-melting to produce cast C64700-C66100 Wrought Silicon Bronzes

products C66400-C69800 Wrought Brasses

‹ C = Cast products Copper nickels,
C70000-C79999 Wrought
‹ F = Filler materials for brazing and nickel silvers
welding C80000-C82800 Cast
Coppers, High-
‹ M = Master Alloys Copper Alloys
‹ R = Refined unwrought Copper C83300-C85800 Cast Brasses
‹ S = Scrap Manganese
C86100-C86800 Cast
‹ W = Wrought products Bronzes
‹ X = Non-standard materials Silicon Bronzes
C87200-C87900 Cast
and Brasses
There is then a 3 digit number between 001 C90200-C94800 Cast Tin Bronzes
and 999 with the numbers being in groups Aluminium
C95200-C95800 Cast
as shown in the table below Bronzes
Copper Nickels,
C96200-C97800 Cast
There is then a letter indicating the Copper Nickel Silvers
or alloy grouping, also shown in the table C98200-C98800 Cast Leaded Copper
C99300-C99750 Cast Special Alloys
Number
Letters Materials
Serries
001 - 099 A or B Copper
100 - 199 C or D Copper Alloys, Min. 95% Cu
200 - 299 E or F Copper Alloys, <95% Cu
300 - 349 G Copper-Aluminium Alloys
350 - 399 H Copper-Nickel Alloys
400 - 449 J Copper-Nickel-Zinc Alloys
450 - 499 K Copper-Tin Alloys
500 - 599 L or M Copper-Zinc Alloys - Binary
600 - 699 N or P Copper-Zinc-Lead Alloys
Copper-Zinc Alloys -
700 - 799 R or S
Complex

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