UNS C23000 (CW502L) Red Brass
C23000 brass is a brass formulated for primary forming into wrought products. CW502L is the EN numeric designation for this material. C23000 is the UNS number. Additionally, the EN chemical designation is CuZn15. The British Standard (BS) designation is CZ102. And the common industry name is 85-15 Red Brass. Older literature may refer to this material as ASTM Brass Type 1, but this is now discouraged.
It has a moderately high thermal conductivity and a moderately high electrical conductivity among wrought brasses.
The properties of C23000 brass include nine 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 C23000 brass to: wrought brasses (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 16 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
2.9 to 47 %
Poisson's Ratio
0.33
Rockwell B Hardness
48 to 87
Rockwell Superficial 30T Hardness
51 to 77
Shear Modulus
42 GPa 6.1 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
220 to 340 MPa 31 to 49 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
280 to 590 MPa 40 to 86 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
83 to 480 MPa 12 to 70 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
190 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
170 °C 340 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1030 °C 1880 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
990 °C 1810 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
390 J/kg-K 0.092 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
160 W/m-K 92 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
19 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
37 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
39 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
28 % relative
Calomel Potential
-350 mV
Density
8.6 g/cm3 540 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
2.6 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
43 MJ/kg 18 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
310 L/kg 38 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
6.2 to 260 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
31 to 1040 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
7.2 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
19 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
8.9 to 19 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
11 to 18 points
Thermal Diffusivity
48 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
9.4 to 20 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought copper alloys, the composition of C23000 brass is notable for containing comparatively high amounts of iron (Fe) and lead (Pb). Iron is used to increase strength inexpensively. Lead is used to improve machinability and bearing properties, at the cost of toxicity.
| Cu | 84 to 86 | |
| Zn | 13.7 to 16 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.050 | |
| Pb | 0 to 0.050 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.2 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM B134: Standard Specification for Brass Wire
ASTM B36: Standard Specification for Brass Plate, Sheet, Strip, And Rolled Bar
Copper: Its Trade, Manufacture, Use, and Environmental Status, Gunter Joseph, 2001
Properties and Selection: Nonferrous Alloys and Special-Purpose Materials, ASM Handbook vol. 2, ASM International, 1993