UNS C74400 Nickel Silver
C74400 nickel silver is a copper-nickel alloy formulated for primary forming into wrought products. Cited properties are appropriate for the O60 (soft annealed) temper.
It has a moderately low base cost among wrought copper-nickels. In addition, it has a moderately high thermal conductivity and a moderately low melting temperature.
The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare C74400 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
110 GPa 16 x 106 psi
Elongation at Break
43 %
Poisson's Ratio
0.31
Shear Modulus
39 GPa 5.7 x 106 psi
Shear Strength
240 MPa 35 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
350 MPa 51 x 103 psi
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof)
120 MPa 17 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
180 J/g
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical
140 °C 280 °F
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
930 °C 1710 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
910 °C 1670 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
390 J/kg-K 0.093 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
120 W/m-K 67 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
20 µm/m-K
Electrical Properties
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume
26 % IACS
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific)
29 % IACS
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
25 % relative
Density
8.2 g/cm3 510 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
2.9 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
48 MJ/kg 21 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
320 L/kg 38 gal/lb
Common Calculations
Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work)
120 MJ/m3
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience)
63 kJ/m3
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
7.4 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
19 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
12 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
14 points
Thermal Diffusivity
37 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
12 points
Alloy Composition
Among wrought copper alloys, the composition of C74400 nickel silver is notable for including nickel (Ni). Nickel is used to improve strength (particularly at elevated temperatures) and corrosion resistance.
| Cu | 62 to 66 | |
| Zn | 29.6 to 36 | |
| Ni | 2.0 to 4.0 | |
| Fe | 0 to 0.050 | |
| Pb | 0 to 0.050 | |
| res. | 0 to 0.3 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Similar Alloys
Further Reading
Properties and Selection: Nonferrous Alloys and Special-Purpose Materials, ASM Handbook vol. 2, ASM International, 1993
CRC Materials Science and Engineering Handbook, 4th ed., James F. Shackelford et al. (editors), 2015