UNS C15500 Silver-Bearing Copper
C15500 copper is a lightly alloyed grade of copper, formulated for primary forming into wrought products.
The properties of C15500 copper include eight common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare C15500 copper to: wrought coppers (top), all copper alloys (middle), and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Mechanical Properties
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
120 GPa 17 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
3.0 to 37 %
Poisson's Ratio
0.34
Rockwell F Hardness
70 to 100
Shear Modulus
43 GPa 6.3 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
190 to 320 MPa 27 to 46 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
280 to 550 MPa 40 to 80 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
130 to 530 MPa 19 to 77 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
210 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
200 °C 390 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1080 °C 1980 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1080 °C 1970 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
390 J/kg-K 0.092 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
350 W/m-K 200 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
17 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
90 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
91 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
33 % relative
Density
8.9 g/cm3 560 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
2.7 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
42 MJ/kg 18 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
360 L/kg 43 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
15 to 84 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
72 to 1210 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
7.2 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
18 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
8.6 to 17 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
11 to 17 points
Thermal Diffusivity
100 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
9.8 to 20 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought copper alloys, the composition of C15500 copper is notable for including magnesium (Mg) and silver (Ag). Magnesium is used to improve strain hardenability. This increases strength but reduces the ability to form the alloy into complex shapes. Silver is used to increase recrystallization temperature in copper alloys. This permits operation at higher temperatures without permanent loss of mechanical properties.
| Cu | 99.75 to 99.853 | |
| Mg | 0.080 to 0.13 | |
| Ag | 0.027 to 0.1 | |
| P | 0.040 to 0.080 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.2 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
Copper Alloys: Preparation, Properties and Applications, Michael Naboka and Jennifer Giordano (editors), 2013