UNS C26000 (CW505L) Cartridge Brass
C26000 brass is a brass formulated for primary forming into wrought products. CW505L is the EN numeric designation for this material. C26000 is the UNS number. Additionally, the EN chemical designation is CuZn30. The British Standard (BS) designation is CZ106. And the common industry name is 70-30 Cartridge Brass. Older literature may refer to this material as ASTM Brass Type 2, but this is now discouraged.
The properties of C26000 brass include eleven 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 C26000 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
2.5 to 66 %
Poisson's Ratio
0.31
Rockwell B Hardness
53 to 93
Rockwell Superficial 30T Hardness
52 to 78
Shear Modulus
41 GPa 5.9 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
230 to 390 MPa 33 to 57 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
320 to 680 MPa 46 to 99 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
110 to 570 MPa 15 to 82 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
180 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
140 °C 280 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
950 °C 1750 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
920 °C 1680 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
390 J/kg-K 0.092 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
120 W/m-K 70 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
20 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
28 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
31 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
25 % relative
Density
8.2 g/cm3 510 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
2.7 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
45 MJ/kg 19 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
320 L/kg 38 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
6.1 to 420 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
51 to 1490 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
7.2 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
19 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
11 to 23 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
13 to 21 points
Thermal Diffusivity
38 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
11 to 23 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought copper alloys, the composition of C26000 brass is notable for including bismuth (Bi). Bismuth improves machinability. It is used a non-toxic but more expensive replacement for lead.
| Cu | 68.5 to 71.5 | |
| Zn | 28.1 to 31.5 | |
| Pb | 0 to 0.070 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.050 | |
| Bi | 0 to 0.0059 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.3 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM B19: Standard Specification for Cartridge Brass Sheet, Strip, Plate, Bar, and Disks
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