Bronze is one of the most widely used metals in industry, and for millennia it was a basic alloy for the manufacture of weapons and utensils, for example in the Bronze Age, around 3000 BC, when bronze metallurgy was developed.
In this article, we explain what this alloy is made of, what its properties are and which types of bronze are most used.
What is bronze?
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, in which copper is the base of the alloy and tin appears in a proportion of 3 to 20%, and can also include other metals. Therefore, there are many differences between copper and bronze.
Among its properties, bronze has high compressive strength, high elasticity, resistance to softening and resistance to corrosion and wear, making it a useful material for a multitude of applications. Current applications include its use in mechanical parts resistant to friction and corrosion, such as bearings, gears, ship parts and propellers.
Types of bronze
Tin bronze
Tin bronze consists mainly of copper and tin, plus small amounts of lead and zinc to improve its mechanical properties. The most common is known as RG5 of composition CuSn5Zn5Pb5 which is characterised by its excellent anti-friction qualities, resistance to high pressures, corrosion, vibrations and shocks.
It is one of the most demanded alloys due to its hardness, machinability and strength. It is also widely known as red bronze, Gunmetal, Ebony or Redbrass.
It is used in a variety of industries, including shipbuilding, chemical, machinery and instrumentation.
Aluminium bronze
Aluminium bronze or AB (AluBronze) is a type of alloy where aluminium is the main alloying metal. It contains between 5% and 12% aluminium.
In terms of wear and corrosion resistance, aluminium bronze outperforms brass and tin bronze in certain states.
It is often used to manufacture parts with high wear resistance, such as gears, sleeves, ship propellers, etc.
Lead bronze
Lead bronze is an alloy containing tin, lead and copper, but sometimes also zinc and nickel. The general strength, toughness and impact resistance of bronzes decrease considerably with the addition of lead, but the alloy is nevertheless of considerable use in certain limited fields. Due to the high working temperature that lead bronze allows, compared to white metals, it is widely used for steel-backed bearings in the engine and aircraft industries.
Beryllium bronze
In this case, the main alloying metal is beryllium. The beryllium content usually ranges from 1.7% to 2.5%.
Beryllium bronze is characterised by high yield strength and fatigue strength, excellent wear and corrosion resistance and good electrical and thermal conductivity. It is also free of magnetism and sparks on impact.
It is mainly used in the manufacture of critical springs in precision instruments, such as watch gears, bearings and bushings operating at high speed and pressure, among other uses.
It is also frequently found in the nozzles of welding torches, as they are widely used for their excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, excellent corrosion resistance, ease of fabrication, good fatigue strength and spark resistance. It is easy to find these nozzles among the copper scrap because they have to be discarded after only a few hours of use.
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