Copper Alloys
Cu-Alloys Designation:The designation system is an orderly method of defining and identifying
coppers and copper alloys; it is not a specification. It eliminates the limitations
and conflicts of alloy designations previously used and at the same time
provides a workable method for the identification marking of mill and foundry
products.
In the designation system, numbers from C10000 through C79999 denote wrought
alloys. Cast alloys are numbered from C80000 through C99999. Within these two
categories, the compositions are grouped into the following families of coppers and
copper alloys
Wrought Copper Alloy Families:
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C100xx
C151xx
C2xxxx
C3xxxx
C4xxxx
C5xxxx
C6xxxx
C7xxxx
C150xx Commercially Pure Cu
C199xx Age Hardenable Cu (w/ Cd, Be, Cr, Fe)
Cu-Zn alloys – Brasses
Cu-Zn-Pb alloys – Leaded brasses
Cu-Zn-Sn alloys – Tin bronzes
Cu-Sn and Cu-Sn-Pb Phosphor bronze alloys
Cu-Al and Cu-Si Bronzes
Cu-Ni Copper Nickel and Cu-Ni-Zn Nickel Silver
Cast Copper Alloy Families:
C800xx
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C813xx
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C833xx
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C9xxxx
copper nickel
C811xx Commercially Pure Coppers
C828xx 95-99% Copper
C899xx Cu-Zn alloys containing Sn, Pb, Mn, or Si
Other alloys, including tin bronze, aluminum bronze,
1-C26000 - Cartridge Brass:Atlas carries C26000 Cartridge Brass, sometimes called alloy 260 in
Sheet / Plate and Tubing. We carry a very large range of sizes and will
cut the material to length. Of all the brasses, C26000 is the most ductile
and is used in greater quantity than any other copper-zinc alloy.
C26000 Cartridge Bronze has excellent to good corrosion resistance in
most environments, but is not suitable for use with certain materials, such
as acetic acid, moist ammonia or ammonia compounds, hydrochloric acid
and nitric acid.
C26000 Typical Uses:
Some of the typical areas that C26000 is used are as follows:
 Architectural
grillwork
 Automotive
radiator and heater cores and tanks
 Electrical
flashlight shells, lamp fixtures, switches, reflectors, screw shells, socket shells
 Hardware
eyelets, fasteners, grommets, finish hardware articles (kick plates, lock sets, push
plates, etc.)
 Munitions
ammunition components
 Plumbing
plumbing accessories, plumbing brass goods
 Wire
fasteners, pins, rivets, screws, springs
2-C36000 - Free Machining Brass:C36000 Brass is commonly known as "Free Cutting" or "Free Machining" Brass. With a
machinability rating of 100 this material is the standard by which all other metals are
measured by. The 2 phase structure of C360 tends to form broken chips instead of continous
coils, which interfere with high speed machining. This brass alloy is suited for high speed
machining. The lead content adds internal lubrication against the surface of the cutting tool.
The high machinability rating of C36000 Free Machining Brass permits full utilization of
screw machines speeds and feeds capabilities. C360 has superior machinability, thread
rolling and knurling characteristics. In half hard condition, C360 brass can be a substitute for
leaded steel in a majority of common screw machine products.
C36000 - Free Machining Brass Typical Uses:
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Hardware
gears, pinions
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Industrial
automatic high speed screw machine parts (screws, bolts, nuts, miscellaneous fasteners)
3- C51000 - Phosphor Bronze:Phosphor bronze alloys such as C51000, also known as C510, consist of copper with 0.50–
11.00% of tin and 0.01–0.35% phosphorus. The tin increases the corrosion resistance and
strength of the alloy. The phosphorus increases the wear resistance and stiffness of the
alloy. These alloys are notable for their toughness, strength, low coefficient of friction, and
fine grain.
C51000 - Phosphor Bronze Typical Uses:
 Architectural
bridge bearing plates
 Hardware
beater bars, bellow, bourdon tubing, clutch disks, cotter pins, diaphragms, fuse clips,
fasteners, lock washers, sleeve bushings, springs, switch parts, truss wire, wire
brushes
 Industrial
chemical hardware, perforated sheets, textile machinery, welding rods
Cu-Zn Alloy (Brass):
Cu-Zn brasses, like many industrial alloys, are based on solid solutions of
a base metal, here the FCC Cu. In the equilibrium phase diagram8, the
Cu-Zn solid solution covers a wide composition range, approaching 38.95
weight percent (wt.%) Zn at a high temperature. In the normal casting
fabrication, Cu-Zn alloys exhibit a single α-phase FCC state below 35 wt.%
Zn; above this Zn content, the intermetallic β-CuZn (CsCl type) would be
formed, which induces precipitation strengthening, but at the expense of
the reduced plasticity. For this reason, industrial Cu-Zn alloys contain at
most about 40.0 wt.% Zn, which is slightly above the solubility limit of Zn
in Cu.
Although Zn can be dissolved in the FCC Cu over a wide composition
range, single-phase α-brass industrial alloys9 are located at specific
compositions only, typically C21000 (gilding metal, 95Cu-5Zn, the
number before the elements indicating wt.%), C22000 (commercial
bronze, 90Cu-10Zn), C23000 (red brass, 85Cu-15Zn), C24000 (low brass,
80Cu-20Zn), C26000 (cartridge brass, 70Cu-30Zn) and C27000 (yellow
brass, 65Cu-35Zn). It is noticed that many properties show obvious
dependences on the Zn contents (for instance, see the propertycomposition graphs on page 296, American Society for Metals (ASM)
Handbook9). Specifically, tensile strength rises rapidly with increasing the
Zn content, showing an efficient solute-strengthening effect and the
rising tendency slows down above about 20 wt.% Zn. In accompany to
the strength variations, the elongation first drops downwards and rises
after 10 wt.% Zn.
Structural Model and Cluster Formulas of Solid solution for fcc αbrasses:Due to the difficulty in describing short-range orders, the relationship between
the composition and the relevant short-range-order feature is not known. For the
objective of extracting a simple formulism for the short-range orders in solid
solutions, we here analyze a schematic two-dimensional solution structure shown
in Figure 2, where solutes (yellow circles) are distributed in a solvent square lattice
(light red circles), with a dissimilar inter-atomic bonding tendency between them.
The major part of the structure is characterized by a local structural unit
formulated with [solute1-solvent4]solute1, despite the presence of different local
varieties, such as the solvent-richer down-right corner and the solute-richer
upper-right corner in Figure 2. This formula covers only a 1st-neighbor cluster and
some 2nd-neighbor glue atoms. This idealized local atomic configuration,
complying with the inter-atomic interaction requirements, should show a
relatively high structural stability against structures of nearby compositions and
possibly possess specific properties in relevance to this local short-range order
feature. Such a description might underline that the solid-solution alloys, though
compositionally continuous, show special comprehensive properties at specific
compositions where idealized short-range orders dominate. Hence, this clusterbased short-range-order structural model describes special ‘stable solid
solutions’.
Phase diagram cu-zn:
A study of the metallurgy and manufacturing techniques of a group of eight
astrolabes (seven from Lahore, one attributed to India) using non-destructive
methods has produced the earliest evidence for systematic use of high-zinc (α +
β) brass. To produce this alloy, the brass industry supplying the Lahore
instrument makers must have co-melted metall.
Processing copper (cu):
the extraction of copper from its ores and the preparation of copper metal or
chemical compounds for use in various products.
In its pure form or as an alloy, copper (Cu) is one of the most important metals
in society. The pure metal has a face-centred cubic crystal structure, and there
is no critical temperature at which this crystal structure changes. Consequently,
it is ductile and possesses a high level of electrical and thermal conductivity,
making it attractive for a wide range of ornamental and practical applications.
With cold-working, copper becomes harder, but it can be made soft again with
the heat treating process known as annealing.
Structure copper(cu):Copper has a face centred cubic (FCC) crystal structure. Copper and its alloys
have a range of yellow/gold/red colours and when polished develop a bright
metallic lustre.
Applications copper(cu):Copper and Copper alloys can be used in an extraordinary range of applications.
Some of the applications fro Copper include:
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Power transmission lines
Architectural applications
Cooking utensils
Spark plugs
Electrical wiring, cables and busbars
High conductivity wires
Electrodes
Heat exchangers
Refrigeration tubing
Plumbing
Water-cooled Copper crucibles
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