This article discusses the composition, properties, and behaviors of copper and its alloys. It begins with an overview of the characteristics, applications, and commercial grades of wrought and cast copper. It then discusses the role of alloying, explaining how zinc, tin, aluminum, silicon, and nickel affect the physical and mechanical properties of coppers and high-copper alloys as well as brasses, bronzes, copper-nickels, and nickel silvers. It also explains how alloying affects electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance, stress-corrosion cracking, and processing characteristics.

This chapter covers the friction and wear behaviors of copper alloys. It describes the compositions and forms of copper available and their suitability for applications involving friction, different types of erosion, and adhesive and abrasive wear.

This chapter describes the conditions under which copper-base alloys are susceptible to stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) and some of the environmental factors, such as temperature, pH, and corrosion potential, that influence crack growth and time to failure. It explains that, although most of the literature has been concerned with copper zinc alloys in ammoniacal solutions, there are a number of alloy-environment combinations where SCC has been observed. The chapter discusses several of these cases and the effect of various application parameters, including composition, microstructure, heat treatment, cold working, and stress intensity. It also provides information on stress-corrosion testing, mitigation techniques, and basic cracking mechanisms.