opper, as we all know has been Cused since pre historic times since

4000 BC. Since then advancements in

metallurgy has made it possible to alloy it

with certain other metals to fully exploit its

beneficial properties such as good

conductivity of heat and electricity and

improve those properties which it was

lacking such as hardness. In aviation

Copper and its alloys in (wrought )

are used in Aviation industry in various

forms like Electrical conductors, Winding

wires in numerous electro

pneumatic/hydraulic accessories like

valvesactuators etc, In alloy with other

metals its main application is as

bushings, bearing sleeves. These are used

in numerous assemblies with in the

aircraft and is an important alloy to the

aviation manufacturing industry. The

unique property of high strength ,

excellent bearing characteristic with high

load bearing capability make its

application extensive. These are also used

as hydraulic and fuel line fittings.

Among these alloys, the Age

hardenable alloys like beryllium- copper

provides the highest strength among

copper alloys. Depending on the degree

of cold work, these alloys can attain

strength levels greate than 895Mpa (130

ksi) on precipitation hardening. Copper

Berrylium fabrication requires special

care as its powders are considered a

health hazard.

Copper alloys used In Aerospace

applications are classifed as per the SAE

Aerospace Material Specifications, the AMS

Below are the common AMS

Secifications routinely referenced in the

design drawings.

AMS 4533 (C17200) Beryllium Copper

This copper alloy can have the highest

mechanical properties of all copper alloys.

This alloy also has excellent bearing

qualities with extremely high compressive

strength for high loading applications. It

also has excellent abrasion and corrosion

resistant properties, plus outstanding

cryogenic characteristics (for space

applications).

AMS 4640 'H' (C63000) Nickel

Aluminium Bronze

This is a high strength, tough nickel

Aluminium bronze used where high

mechanical properties are required. This

alloy is a heat treatable Aluminium bronze

containing 5% nickel, that provides

excellent bearing properties with good

corrosion resistance. It is used extensively

for aircraft landing gear bushings,

October 201735

- T. HarilalConsultant

Aircraft Materials & ProcessesEmail : harilal05@gmail.com

Copper & its alloys in AviationCopper & its alloys in AviationCopper & its alloys in Aviation

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October 201736

Table ICommon classification of Copper alloys ( adapted from ASM handbook )

Common Name UNS Number Composition

Coppers

High-copper alloys

Brasses

Leaded brasses

Tin brasses

Phosphor bronzes

Leaded phosphor bronzes

Copper-phosphorus and copper-silver-

phosphorus alloys

Aluminium bronzes

Silicon bronzes

Other copper-zinc alloys

Copper-nickels

Nickel silvers

C10100-C15760

C16200-C19600

C20500-C28580

C31200-C3890

C40400-C49080

C50100-C52400

C53200-C54800

C55180-C55284

C60600-C64400

C64700-C66100

C66400-C69900

C7000-C79900

C73200-C79900

>99% Cu

>96% Cu

Cu-Zn

Cu-Zn-Pb

Cu-Zn-Sn-Pb

Cu-Sn-P

Cu-Sn-Pb-P

Cu-P-Ag

Cu-Al-Ni-Fe-Si-Sn

Cu-Si-Sn

. . .

Cu-Ni-Fe

Cu-Ni-Zn

Major alloys of copper in use today and compositions of these alloys aregiven in the Table 1 below

Copper alloys are identified and numbered as per the

Unified Numbering System (UNS) as follows

Fig.1 Typical Aircraft parts bushing in C 63000 Ni Al Bronze

Fig.2. Aluminium Bronze Bushingin an aircraft landing gear part

bearings, and other components.

AMS 4881 'D' Continuous Cast

(C95520) Nickel Aluminium Bronze

This alloy is an extra high strength

version of nickel Aluminium bronze. A

special heat treatment process improves

the mechanical properties beyond the

range of commercial Aluminium bronzes.

It is used where parts require extra high

strength and hardness with some ductility

and toughness. Typical applications

include military aircraft bushings involving

heavy loads, abrasion, and high

deformation. The extra high strength

characteristics provide extreme wear

resistance for extreme loads, abrasive

wear, and high impact landings (such as

aircraft carrier landings).

AMS 4616 (C65620) Silicon Bronze

A special high-strength silicon bronze;

the additional iron content provides added

strength in conjunction with the self-

lubricity of the silicon for excellent bearing

and load properties.

AMS 4634 (C64200) Silicon

Aluminium Bronze

This silicon Aluminium bronze

combines the self-lubricity of the silicon

with the higher mechanical properties of

Aluminium bronze and is sometimes used

in place of C63000 where specifications

permit a lower strength material offset by

its lubricity. Typical applications involve

valve stems, gears, wing pylons, bolts,

nuts, bushings and valve body

components.

C67300 (SAE J463, J461)

Manganese Bronze

This is a high strength manganese

bronze with typically good bearing and

self-lubricity properties. This alloy

maintains high impact resistance with good

machinability making it well suited for

clutch bearings, shaft bushings, sleeve

bearings, thrust bearings, pump parts, drive

shafts, bearing pins, wear plates, gears and

cams. Resists squashing out under high

loads and extreme wear applications.

AMS 4862 (C86300)

Manganese Bronze

This cast manganese bronze is

typically supplied in a continuous cast

or centrifugally cast bars and tubes for

high load gear and bearing applications.

This alloy can achieveover 110 KSI

tensile strength and an elongation of

14% minimum. It is excellent for

October 201737

Fig. 2 Disc Spring made of CopperBeryllium alloy

Fig.3. Aircraft Main Landing gearBushing made from Aluminium

Phosphour bronze

applications requiring high strength

metal to metal wear.

AMS 4842 (C93700) High Leaded Tin

Bronze '80-10-10'

This is a high leaded tin bronze used

for high speed and heavy pressure

applications where corrosion resistance is

necessary. The increased lead content

provides added self-lubricity within the

family of tin bronzes and has excellent

machinability.

AMS 4871 (C95400)

Aluminium Bronze '9C’

This is the most popular Aluminium

bronze and is used in a lot of different

industrial applications. This extra tough

bearing material is used for heavy loads

with good resistance to impact and

corrosion. Aluminium bronze has a lot of

good properties and is the most readily

available high strength bearing material.

AMS 4880 'E' Continuous Cast

(C95510) Nickel Aluminium Bronze

These are the most popular landing

gear bushing materials specified today

along with C63000 material. These

continuous/centrifugal cast alloys are heat

treated alloys and exhibit high mechanical

strengths which meet the properties of

C63000 (AMS 4640). In many cases,

C95510 (AMS 4880) can be substituted

for C63000

AMS 4590 (C63020)

Nickel Aluminium Bronze

A special heat treatment process

improves mechanical properties and

strength-weight ratio beyond the range of

commercial Aluminium bronzes. For

applications involving heavy loads,

abrasive wear, friction, deformation and

high temperatures.

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C95500 Nickel Aluminium

Bronze '9D’

C95500 Nickel Aluminium Bronze,

also known as 9D, contains nickel similar

to other grades of high strength Aluminium

bronzes, which makes it one of the

toughest alloys. C95500 Nickel

Aluminium Bronze also has superior

resistance to sea water corrosion, heat

resistance, good machinability, and

weldability. Other benefits are exceptional

yield, compressive strength, high hardness,

and fairly high elongation. This alloy can

also be readily used for all lead-free

applications.

UZ19AL6 Aircraft Bronze

This is a European high strength

bearing bronze which is being used by

Airbus for landing gear components.

UN14ALZ Aircraft Bronze

This non-magnetic alloy has very high

mechanical properties. This alloy is also

resistant to seawater corrosion and to

oxidation. This alloy also has excellent

fatigue resistant properties.

UA11N (CuAl11Ni5Fe5) Nickel

Aluminium Bronze

This Nickel Aluminium Bronze alloy

has high mechanical properties and is

oxidation and corrosion resistant in a

saline mist atmosphere. Mainly used in

the aeronautical industry for pump blocks,

rings, bushings, and in bearings for landing

gears.

SAE 841 (ASTM B-438, B-4831)

Sintered Bronze

This oil impregnated bronze is one of

the finest powder metal bearings on the

market. The sintering process provides

superior strength, reduced coefficient of

friction, and uniform oil coating of the

mating shaft during operation.

C96900 Spinodal Bearing & Bushing

Bronze Systems

This is a high-performance alloy

which can withstand high loads and

operate under severe conditions. An

excellent low friction, non-corrosive

bronze alloy.

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