List of copper alloys

Copper alloys are metal alloys that have copper as their principal component. They have high resistance against corrosion. Of the large number of different types, the best known traditional types are bronze, where tin is a significant addition, and brass, using zinc instead. Both of these are imprecise terms. Latten is a further term, mostly used for coins with a very high copper content. Today the term "copper alloy" tends to be substituted for all of these, especially by museums.
Copper deposits are abundant in most parts of the world, and it has therefore always been a relatively cheap metal. By contrast, tin is relatively rare, and in Europe and the Mediterranean region, even in prehistoric times, it had to be traded considerable distances and was expensive, sometimes virtually unobtainable. Zinc is even more common at 75 parts per million but is harder to extract from its ores. Bronze with the ideal percentage of tin was therefore expensive, and the proportion of tin was often reduced to save cost. The discovery and exploitation of the Bolivian tin belt in the 19th century made tin far cheaper, although forecasts for future supplies are less positive.
There are as many as 400 different copper and copper alloy compositions loosely grouped into the categories: copper, high copper alloy, brasses, bronzes, cupronickel, copper-nickel-zinc, leaded copper, and special alloys.

Composition

The similarity in external appearance of the various alloys, along with the different combinations of elements used when making each alloy, can lead to confusion when categorizing the different compositions. The following table lists the principal alloying element for four of the more common types used in modern industry, along with the name for each type. Historical types, such as those that characterize the Bronze Age, are vaguer, as the mixtures were generally variable.

Family	Principal alloying element	UNS numbers
Copper alloys, brass	Zinc	C1xxxx-C4xxxx,C66400-C69800
Phosphor bronze	Tin	C5xxxx
Aluminium bronzes	Aluminium	C60600-C64200
Silicon bronzes	Silicon	C64700-C66100
Cupronickel, nickel silvers	Nickel	C7xxxx

Name	Nominal composition	Form and condition	Yield strength	Tensile strength	Elongation in 2 inches	Hardness	Comments
Copper	Cu 99.9	Annealed	10	32	45	42	Electrical equipment, roofing, screens
Copper	Cu 99.9	Cold-drawn	40	45	15	90	Electrical equipment, roofing, screens
Copper	Cu 99.9	Cold-rolled	40	46	5	100	Electrical equipment, roofing, screens
Gilding metal	Cu 95.0, Zn 5.0	Cold-rolled	50	56	5	114	Coins, bullet jackets
Cartridge brass	Cu 70.0, Zn 30.0	Cold-rolled	63	76	8	155	Good for cold-working; radiators, hardware, electrical, drawn cartridge cases.
Phosphor bronze	Cu 89.75, Sn 10.0, P 0.25	Spring temper	—	122	4	241	High fatigue-strength and spring qualities
Yellow or High brass	Cu 65.0, Zn 35.0	Annealed	18	48	60	55	Good corrosion resistance
Yellow or High brass	Cu 65.0, Zn 35.0	Cold-drawn	55	70	15	115	Good corrosion resistance
Yellow or High brass	Cu 65.0, Zn 35.0	Cold-rolled	60	74	10	180	Good corrosion resistance
Manganese bronze	Cu 58.5, Zn 39.2, Fe 1.0, Sn 1.0, Mn 0.3	Annealed	30	60	30	95	Forgings
Manganese bronze	Cu 58.5, Zn 39.2, Fe 1.0, Sn 1.0, Mn 0.3	Cold-drawn	50	80	20	180	Forgings
Naval brass	Cu 60.0, Zn 39.25, Sn 0.75	Annealed	22	56	40	90	Resistance to salt corrosion
Naval brass	Cu 60.0, Zn 39.25, Sn 0.75	Cold-drawn	40	65	35	150	Resistance to salt corrosion
Muntz metal	Cu 60.0, Zn 40.0	Annealed	20	54	45	80	Condenser tubes
Aluminium bronze	Cu 92.0, Al 8.0	Annealed	25	70	60	80	—
Aluminium bronze	Cu 92.0, Al 8.0	Hard	65	105	7	210	—
Beryllium copper	Cu 97.75, Be 2.0, Co or Ni 0.25	Annealed, solution-treated	32	70	45	B60	Electrical, valves, pumps, oilfield tools, aerospace landing gears, robotic welding, mold making
Beryllium copper	Cu 97.75, Be 2.0, Co or Ni 0.25	Cold-rolled	104	110	5	B81	Electrical, valves, pumps, oilfield tools, aerospace landing gears, robotic welding, mold making
Free-cutting brass	Cu 62.0, Zn 35.5, Pb 2.5	Cold-drawn	44	70	18	B80	Screws, nuts, gears, keys
Nickel silver	Cu 65.0, Zn 17.0, Ni 18.0	Annealed	25	58	40	70	Hardware
Nickel silver	Cu 65.0, Zn 17.0, Ni 18.0	Cold-rolled	70	85	4	170	Hardware
Nickel silver	Cu 76.5, Ni 12.5, Pb 9.0, Sn 2.0	Cast	18	35	15	55	Easy to machine; ornaments, plumbing
Cupronickel	Cu 88.35, Ni 10.0, Fe 1.25, Mn 0.4	Annealed	22	44	45	–	Condenser, salt-water pipes
Cupronickel	Cu 88.35, Ni 10.0, Fe 1.25, Mn 0.4	Cold-drawn tube	57	60	15	–	Condenser, salt-water pipes
Cupronickel	Cu 70.0, Ni 30.0	Wrought	–	–	–	–	Heat-exchange equipment, valves
Ounce metal Copper alloy C83600	Cu 85.0, Zn 5.0, Pb 5.0, Sn 5.0	Cast	17	37	25	60	—
Gunmetal	Varies Cu 80-90%, Zn <5%, Sn ~10%, +other elements@ <1%						-

Family	CDA	ASTM	SAE	SAE superseded	Federal	Military
Red brass	833
Red brass	836	B145-836	836	40	QQ-C-390	C-2229 Gr2
Red brass	838	B145-838	838		QQ-C-390
Semi-red brass	844	B145-844			QQ-C-390
Semi-red brass	848	B145-848			QQ-C-390
Manganese bronze	862	B147-862	862	430A	QQ-C-390	C-2229 Gr9
Manganese bronze	863	B147-863	863	430B	QQ-C-390	C-2229 Gr8
Manganese bronze	865	B147-865	865	43	QQ-C-390	C-2229 Gr7
Tin bronze	903	B143-903	903	620	QQ-C-390	C-2229 Gr1
Tin bronze	905	B143-905	905	62	QQ-C-390
Tin bronze	907		907	65
Leaded tin bronze	922	B143-922	922	622	QQ-C-390	B-16541
Leaded tin bronze	923	B143-923	923	621	QQ-C-390	C-15345 Gr10
Leaded tin bronze	926		926
Leaded tin bronze	927		927	63
High-leaded tin bronze	932	B144-932	932	660	QQ-C-390	C-15345 Gr12
High-leaded tin bronze	934				QQ-C-390	C-22229 Gr3
High-leaded tin bronze	935	B144-935	935	66	QQ-C-390
High-leaded tin bronze	937	B144-937	937	64	QQ-C-390
High-leaded tin bronze	938	B144-938	938	67	QQ-C-390
High-leaded tin bronze	943	B144-943	943		QQ-C-390
Aluminium bronze	952	B148-952	952	68A	QQ-C-390	C-22229 Gr5
Aluminium bronze	953	B148-953	953	68B	QQ-C-390
Aluminium bronze	954	B148-954	954		QQ-C-390	C-15345 Gr13
Aluminium bronze	955	B148-955	955		QQ-C-390	C-22229 Gr8
Aluminium bronze	958				QQ-C-390
Silicon bronze	878	B30	878

The following table outlines the chemical composition of various grades of copper alloys.

Brasses

Brass is an alloy of copper with zinc. Brasses are usually yellow in color. The zinc content can vary between few % to about 40%; as long as it is kept under 15%, it does not markedly decrease the corrosion resistance of copper.
Brasses can be sensitive to selective leaching corrosion under certain conditions, when zinc is leached from the alloy, leaving behind a spongy copper structure.

Nordic Gold

Bronzes

A bronze is an alloy of copper and other metals, most often tin, but also alumnium and silicon.

Aluminium bronzes are alloys of copper and aluminum. The content of aluminum ranges mostly between 5% and 11%. Iron, nickel, manganese and silicon are sometimes added. They have higher strength and corrosion resistance than other bronzes, especially in marine environments, and have low reactivity to sulfur compounds. Aluminum forms a thin passivation layer on the surface of the metal.
Bell metal
Brastil
Phosphor bronze
Nickel bronzes, e.g. nickel silver and cupronickel
Speculum metal
UNS C69100

Precious metal alloys

Copper is often alloyed with precious metals like gold and silver.

Name	Cu	Au	Ag	Other
Auricupride	†	†
Ashtadhatu	†	†	†	Fe†, Hg†, Sn†, Zn†
Billon	†		†	Hg†
Chinese silver	58		2	17.5 Zn, 11.5 Ni,
Corinthian bronze	†	†	†
CuSil	28		72
Dymalloy	20		80	C
Electrum, Green gold	6-23	75-80	0-15	0-4 Cd
Grey gold	†	†		Mn†
Guanín	25	56	18
Hepatizon	†	trace	trace
Niello	†	†		Pb sulfides†
Panchaloha	†	†	†	Fe†, Sn†, Pb†, Zn†,
Rose, red, and pink gold	20-50	50-75	0-5
Spangold	18-19	76		5-6 Al
Shakudō	90-96	4-10
Shibuichi	40-77	0-1	23-60
Tibetan silver	†		†	Ni†, Sn†
Tumbaga	3-97	3-97
White gold	†	†		Ni†, Zn†

† amount unspecified

High temperature copper alloys

Copper alloys that are resilient at high temperatures and maintain mechanical properties are used in many applications such as heat exchangers, castings, and rocket engines. Copper alloys typically have very high thermal conductivities compared to other structural alloys which give them an advantage when large heat fluxes are involved, as they are better at dissipating heat. But copper’s melting point is 1085 Celsius, which is lower than most structural alloys. Therefore, to make use of coppers excellent thermal properties at high temperatures, creep needs to be considered. Creep deformation occurs in materials at relatively high stresses and temperatures. It can dominate as a deformation mechanism in materials above ~0.35 of the melting temperature, so designing against it is critical for high temperature applications. The working temperatures of high temperature copper alloys are up to 700 Celsius. Most of the leading high temperature copper alloys rely on oxide dispersion strengthening (ODS) or precipitation hardening (PH). Some alloys use different methods however, such as alloy, GRCop-84, which takes advantage of intermetallic compounds that form, in its microstructure. These precipitates pin the grains and inhibit grain boundary sliding. The advantage of ODS strengthening is that the oxides will not coarsen during temperature aging while PH alloys will, and the strengthening will be lost. In all cases, the goal of the strengthening mechanisms are to slow down creep deformation, and the various mechanisms that contribute to it such as dislocation glide, dislocation glide, and vacancy diffusion. Some examples of how these strengthening mechanisms work are by increasing the activation energy needed for lattice and grain boundary diffusion, introducing a threshold stress needed to climb or shear particles in matrix, or by pinning grains which inhibits grain boundary sliding. Other factors to be considered at high temperature are oxidation and thermomechanical fatigue which may contribute material degradation.