What is the difference between pure copper, brass, bronze, red copper and white copper?
In our lives, copper products can be seen everywhere, such as brass, white copper, red copper, bronze, etc., there are many types. So, are there any differences between these many copper types? How should we distinguish them?
pure copper
Pure copper is called red copper, also called red copper. It has good plasticity, excellent electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity. It can be used for hot pressing and cold pressing processing at the same time. It is widely used in cables, wires, special electro-etched copper products for electric sparks and other products.
High-purity red copper has a fine structure, low oxygen content, no trachoma, pores, and excellent electrical conductivity. It is very suitable for use in electroetching molds. After heat treatment, the electrodes have no directionality and are very suitable for fine and fine beating.
brass
The alloy composed of copper and zinc is called brass. If the constituent elements are only copper and zinc, then this is just the most ordinary brass. This kind of brass is usually used to make water pipes, valves, air conditioner internal and external unit connecting pipes and radiators.
If brass consists of more than two elements, including lead, tin, manganese, nickel, iron, silicon and other elements, it is called special brass. This special brass has high hardness, high strength and extremely chemical corrosion resistance. powerful.
Brass has strong wear resistance, and the seamless copper pipe made of it is soft and has strong wear resistance. This special brass is widely used in condensers, cryogenic pipelines, submarine transportation pipes, heat exchangers and other components. Its copper content is only 62~68%.
white copper
If the copper alloy contains nickel as the main added element, then we call it white copper. Cupronickel is divided into ordinary cupronickel, which is a copper-nickel binary alloy, and complex cupronickel that adds elements of iron, zinc, aluminum, and manganese.
In industry, cupronickel is divided into two types: electrical cupronickel and structural cupronickel. Among them, structural white copper is characterized by excellent mechanical properties, good corrosion resistance, and beautiful color.
This kind of white copper is widely used, such as precision machinery, chemical machinery, and eyewear accessories. Electrical white copper has good thermoelectric properties. Among them, constantan and manganese copper are commonly used materials for manufacturing varistors, precision resistors, and precision electrical instruments.
bronze
Bronze has been used in our country for more than 3,000 years, and it can be said to be the earliest alloy used in our country. The original meaning of bronze refers to copper-tin alloy. Later, for the convenience of management, all copper alloys except white copper and brass were collectively called bronze.
And precede it with the name of the main added element to distinguish the different types of bronze. Tin bronze with tin as the main added element has excellent casting properties, good mechanical properties, and excellent friction reduction properties. It is very suitable for manufacturing turbines, gears, and bearings. Lead bronze is now used as a bearing material in engines and grinders.
Aluminum bronze has excellent wear resistance, corrosion resistance and high strength. It is widely used in the manufacture of high-load bushings, gears, marine propellers, etc. Phosphor bronze has good electrical conductivity and high elastic limit, making it very suitable for manufacturing precision springs and electrical contact components.
So what kind of copper are ancient copper coins?
In ancient times, the materials of copper coins in different dynasties were also different. Bronze, brass, white copper, red copper, etc. were all used to cast copper coins.
Copper coins in ancient my country were all cast from copper alloys. Because different alloys have different compositions, copper coins will also appear in different colors.
Generally speaking, yellow copper coins are made of copper-zinc alloy, while cyan copper coins are made of copper-tin alloy. In the first half of the Ming Dynasty, the material used to cast copper coins was generally bronze, while in the second half of the Ming Dynasty, brass was used.
