UNS C74500 Nickel Silver
C74500 nickel silver is a copper-nickel alloy formulated for primary forming into wrought products. C74500 is the UNS number for this material. Additionally, the common industry name is 65-10-24. Older literature may refer to this material as ASTM Nickel Silver Type 3, but this is now discouraged.
The properties of C74500 nickel silver include six 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 C74500 nickel silver to: wrought copper-nickels (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 24 %
Poisson's Ratio
0.32
Rockwell B Hardness
66 to 94
Rockwell Superficial 30T Hardness
60 to 79
Shear Modulus
44 GPa 6.4 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
310 to 380 MPa 45 to 55 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
390 to 700 MPa 57 to 100 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
380 to 600 MPa 55 to 87 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
190 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
170 °C 340 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1020 °C 1870 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
970 °C 1780 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
390 J/kg-K 0.094 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
45 W/m-K 26 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
19 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
9.0 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
9.7 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
29 % relative
Density
8.3 g/cm3 520 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
3.4 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
54 MJ/kg 23 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
310 L/kg 37 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
12 to 160 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
620 to 1540 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
7.7 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
19 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
13 to 23 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
14 to 21 points
Thermal Diffusivity
14 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
13 to 23 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought copper alloys, the composition of C74500 nickel silver is notable for including manganese (Mn) and nickel (Ni). Manganese is used to improve strength without a proportional reduction in ductility. Nickel is used to improve strength (particularly at elevated temperatures) and corrosion resistance.
| Cu | 63.5 to 66.5 | |
| Zn | 21.2 to 27.5 | |
| Ni | 9.0 to 11 | |
| Mn | 0 to 0.5 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.25 | |
| Pb | 0 to 0.1 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.5 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
ASTM B151: Standard Specification for Copper-Nickel-Zinc Alloy (Nickel Silver) and Copper-Nickel Rod and Bar
ASTM B122: Standard Specification for Copper-Nickel-Tin Alloy, Copper-Nickel-Zinc Alloy (Nickel Silver), and Copper-Nickel Alloy Plate, Sheet, Strip, and Rolled Bar
ASM Specialty Handbook: Copper and Copper Alloys, J. R. Davis (editor), 2001