UNS C16500 Cadmium-Tin Copper
C16500 copper is a lightly alloyed grade of copper, formulated for primary forming into wrought products. It has a moderately low melting temperature among the wrought coppers in the database.
The properties of C16500 copper include five 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 C16500 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
110 GPa 17 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
1.5 to 53 %
Poisson's Ratio
0.34
Rockwell Superficial 30T Hardness
67 to 73
Shear Modulus
43 GPa 6.2 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
200 to 310 MPa 29 to 45 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
280 to 530 MPa 40 to 77 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
97 to 520 MPa 14 to 75 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
210 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
340 °C 650 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1070 °C 1960 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1010 °C 1850 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
380 J/kg-K 0.091 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
250 W/m-K 150 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
17 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
60 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
61 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
31 % relative
Density
8.9 g/cm3 560 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
2.6 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
42 MJ/kg 18 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
320 L/kg 38 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
7.8 to 110 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
41 to 1160 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
7.1 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
18 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
8.6 to 17 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
11 to 16 points
Thermal Diffusivity
74 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
9.8 to 19 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought copper alloys, the composition of C16500 copper is notable for including cadmium (Cd). Cadmium is used to improve strength at elevated temperatures.
| Cu | 97.8 to 98.9 | |
| Cd | 0.6 to 1.0 | |
| Sn | 0.5 to 0.7 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.020 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.5 |
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