Light Annealed (O50) C48500 Brass
O50 C48500 brass is C48500 brass in the O50 (light annealed) temper. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare O50 C48500 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
100 GPa 15 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
21 %
Poisson's Ratio
0.31
Shear Modulus
39 GPa 5.7 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
270 MPa 40 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
440 MPa 63 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
190 MPa 27 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
170 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
120 °C 240 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
900 °C 1650 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
890 °C 1630 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
380 J/kg-K 0.091 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
120 W/m-K 67 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
21 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
26 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
29 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
23 % relative
Density
8.1 g/cm3 500 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
2.7 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
46 MJ/kg 20 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
330 L/kg 39 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
74 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
170 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
7.1 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
19 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
15 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
16 points
Thermal Diffusivity
38 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
15 points
Alloy Composition
| Cu | 59 to 62 | |
| Zn | 34.3 to 39.2 | |
| Pb | 1.3 to 2.2 | |
| Sn | 0.5 to 1.0 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.1 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.4 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM B21: Standard Specification for Naval Brass Rod, Bar, and Shapes
ASTM B124: Standard Specification for Copper and Copper Alloy Forging Rod, Bar, and Shapes
ASTM B283: Standard Specification for Copper and Copper-Alloy Die Forgings (Hot-Pressed)
ASM Specialty Handbook: Copper and Copper Alloys, J. R. Davis (editor), 2001
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015