COPPER AND COPPER ALLOYS:
Copper and its alloys are widely used in many products that are used in our everyday life. They have excellent properties such as electrical and thermal conductivity good strength. They have high corrosion resistance and fatigue resistance. Copper is a non-magnetic material. Pure Copper is soft and used widely in wires and cables and is extensively used for passage of electricity. Copper is used in the building construction. Source: Lecture 4- Copper and its alloys, Suranaree University of technology, May-Aug 2007
The final products of copper and its alloys are wires, cables, and the following
1.Copper wire
2.Copper Bar
3.Copper Sheet
1.
Source: http://www.antimicrobialcopper.com/media/330138/hutmen-rod.jpg …show more content…
Tin Brasses consist of 2-40% zinc and 0.2-3% tin which are used for making high strength fasteners, connectors of electricity, springs and mechanical components which are resistant to corrosion. This type of brass comprises high strength when compared to ordinary brass. Source:http://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/60187317267_6/good_quality_tin_brass_pipe_price_made.jpg
3. Bronze is any alloy of copper which is comprised of 88% copper and 12% tin. Medals are manufactured from bronze. Bearings are made from this alloy due to its friction properties..B8 bronze is another type of alloy which is comprised of 92% copper and 8% tin. It is also used for making bells with bell metal and 23% tin
4. Silicon Bronzes are part of high strength brasses. These contain less than 20%zinc and 6% silicon and are used for valve systems where the resistance of corrosion and strength is compulsory. Source: http://i00.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/086/743/469/469743086_818.jpg
5. Phosphor Bronzes are comprised of 0.5-11% tin and 0.01-0.35% of phosphorous. Ship’s propellers are also manufactured from this alloy. Below is the figure of a typical ship propeller. Source: …show more content…
Nickel Silvers are known as nickel brasses which contain nickel and zinc. They don’t contain silver but have silver lustre. They are used to make food beverage and hardware for decoration and also used in optical and photographic equipment. These are also used to make musical instruments.
HEAT TREATMENT
Because of their high thermal conductivity they are called as heat sinks. During this, the microstructure of alloys may change accordingly. Due to this they lose resistance to swelling and become soft. Heat treatment of copper and its alloys is done for improving some properties and is done for special purposes of and they are done by the following methods
Homogenizing
Annealing
Stress relieving
Precipitation