Copper & High Copper Alloys
Coppers & Copper Nickels
Copper is a soft and malleable metal, which can be processed in a number of ways to offer end users different benefits. The copper content is usually above 99% for free machining grades and between 99.90 to >99.99% for pure grades. Copper offers excellent electrical and thermal conductivity (second only to silver) and as the purity of the copper increases so do the conductivity values.
Manufactured in a variety of ways, copper can be obtained in many grades and tempers. These include electrolytic tough pitch (ETP), phosphorus de-oxidised and oxygen free coppers (OF & OFE). They can be used for a variety of applications from electrical parts to electronics and plumbing fittings to the construction industry, with each grade offering its own specific advantages. For more information on the specifications available from Columbia Metals click here now. To obtain a quotation for copper rod, sheet, plate or hexagon please use the enquiry form listed above.
Copper nickel alloys - generally known as cupronickels, are widely recognised for their excellent corrosion resistance in atmosphere, freshwater and seawater. This is mainly due to copper being the most noble of the metals in common use, but the addition of nickel improves the material’s overall strength, durability and also its resistance to corrosion, erosion and cavitation in all types of natural waters. These alloys also show excellent resistance to stress corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue.
Cupronickels offer the advantage of resisting biofouling, making them an ideal material for applications in marine and chemical environments. The most common cupronickel alloys are those containing either 10 or 30 percent nickel, but other alloying additions such as manganese and iron are made to improve both strength and corrosion resistance. These two basic grades, recognised worldwide, form the basis for the more specialised alloys. They are used primarily for their corrosion resistance and formability where high strength properties are not required.
Columbia Metals stock two other special grades of cupronickel, developed for applications where a combination of high strength and excellent corrosion resistance is required. COLUMBIA 835 and NIBRON SPECIAL are wrought high strength alloys offering the excellent corrosion resistance of the cupronickels together with very high mechanical properties that even surpass those of the high strength aluminium bronzes.
High Copper Alloys are those that usually contain more than 95% copper with only a small addition of elements such as nickel, silicon, chromium and beryllium. These additions are used to enhance properties such as strength, hardness, corrosion resistance and wear resistance, whilst maintaining some of the benefits of pure copper such as a high electrical or thermal conductivity.
Alloys that fall into this category include silicon bronze, copper nickel silicon and beryllium copper. These alloy grades are among the most important and widely used copper alloys due to the impressive range of attributes that can be attained. When fully heat-treated the beryllium copper offers the highest strength of any commercially available copper alloy, whilst the copper nickel silicon alloys including COLSIBRO® and TROJAN offer a remarkable blend of physical and mechanical properties at competitive prices.
Other alloys such as silicon bronze (COLDUR-A®) have been developed to offer excellent hot and cold formability combined with corrosion resistance, strength and toughness.
The copper nickel silicon’s and the beryllium copper are available ex-stock in a comprehensive range of diameter sizes. The silicon bronze is also available in sheet and plate, square and hexagon as well as round rod. To access the material details for these grades please click here now.