Cu alloys are formable, easy to join, have high thermal and electrical conductivity, are non-magnetic, are corrosion resistant, and they alloy well which means they are suitable for solid solution strengthening as well as precipitation hardening. The non-heat treatable alloys are used for corrosion resistance and for their appearance in applications such as plumbing and furniture. Heat treatable alloys are used in applications where hardness and strength are an advantage such as tooling and gears. See Table X-2 on page 227 of the text. See Table X-3 on page 228 of the text.
Additional information is included in the designation for the purpose of tracking heat treating.
Instead, a -brasses can only be strengthened through solid solution strengthening or cold working. These alloys, the b -brasses, CAN be precipitation hardened. Figure 10-2 on page 232 of the text shows a good example of the effect of solid solution strengthening. The graph shows how much the tensile strength of a brass increases as more Zn is added.