High performance materials for a wide range of applications
With our Histral® alloys, we meet the highest demands for mechanical load-bearing capacity, offer increased safety by minimising the risk of failure and contribute to greater space and weight savings in the end application thanks to the highly flexible, slim, lightweight design and composition.
Histral®H – high strength alloys
Histral®H – high-strength alloys are characterised by their exceptional tensile strength.
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Histral®R – resistance alloys
Histral®R – resistance alloys are designed for precise resistance values.
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Alloy materials
Alloying metals such as silver, tin, nickel, magnesium or zinc, when added to copper, can significantly affect the electrical conductivity and mechanical strength of copper conductors, which is essential for the efficiency and longevity of electrical conductors.
How alloy materials impact on copper wires for electrical conductors
Even at room temperature, pure copper has a tendency of recrystallizing when hard. The effect: Transformation from hard back into soft condition and loss of mechanical strength. The addition of minor amounts of alloy components leads to hard-drawn materials recrystallizing at a much higher temperature than pure copper, preserving a better tensile strength even at higher ambient temperatures, but also to a change in the resistance and, consequentially, the conductivity of the material.
Comparison of copper-based alloys with different amounts of silver added:
Histral® H65 (Ag 10%) and Histral® H79 (Ag 0.1%):
Tensile Strength (N/mm²)
Conductivity (% IACS)
Resistivity (Ohm mm²/m)
Temp. Coefficient of Resistance (1/°C)
Benefits of adding silver to copper-based alloys:
- Temperature performance
- Small crossections possible → reduced weight
Comparison of copper-based alloys with different amounts of magnesium added:
Histral® H64 (Mg 0.4%), Histral® H77 (Mg 0.2%) and Histral® H85 (Mg 0.15%)
Tensile Strength (N/mm²)
Conductivity (% IACS)
Resistivity (Ohm mm²/m)
Temp. Coefficient of Resistance (1/°C)
Benefits of adding magnesium to copper-based alloys:
- Temperature performance
- Small crossection possible → reduced weight
Comparison of copper-based alloys with different amounts of nickel added:
Histral® R51 (Ni 44 %), Histral® R56 (Ni 30 % (MN)), Histral® R55 (Ni 23 % (MN)), Histral® R54 (Ni 10%), Histral® R53 (Ni 6%) and Histral® R51 (Ni 2%)
Tensile Strength (N/mm²)
Conductivity (% IACS)
Resistivity (Ohm mm²/m)
Temp. Coefficient of Resistance (1/°C)
Benefits of adding nickel to copper-based alloys:
- Temperature performance
- Controllability of heating capacity
Comparison of copper-based alloys with different amounts of tin added:
Histral® R15 (Sn 6 %), Histral® H72 (Sn 0.3%) and Histral® H69 (Sn0.3%)
Tensile Strength (N/mm²)
Conductivity (% IACS)
Resistivity (Ohm mm²/m)
Temp. Coefficient of Resistance (1/°C)
Benefits of adding tin to copper-based alloys:
- Temperature performance
- Small crossections possible → reduced weight
Comparison of copper-based alloys with different amounts of zinc added:
Histral® H26 (ZN 37 %)
Tensile Strength (N/mm²)
Conductivity (% IACS)
Resistivity (Ohm mm²/m)
Temp. Coefficient of Resistance (1/°C)
Benefits of adding zinc to copper-based alloys:
- Small crossections possible → reduced weight
Histral® alloys – comparison of technical data
Histral® | N/mm² soft |
N/mm² hard |
---|---|---|
Cu | >220 | >441 |
R59 | >420 | >800 |
R56 | >400 | >700 |
R55 | >350 | >650 |
R54 | >290 | >560 |
R53 | >250 | >520 |
R51 | >220 | >480 |
R20 | >380 | >760 |
R15 | >380 | >690 |
H88 | >414** | >600 |
H85 | >350** | >650 |
H79 | >220 | >520 |
H77 | >230 | >650 |
H72 | >250 | >600 |
H69 | >250 | >530 |
H65 | >300 | >750 |
H64 | >270 | >510 |
H26 | >360 | >800 |
H18 | >350 | >760 |
H16 | <172 | >207 |
**tempered
Histral® | %IACS soft |
%IACS hard |
---|---|---|
Cu | 101 | 97 |
R59 | 4 | 4 |
R56 | 4 | 4 |
R55 | 6 | 6 |
R54 | 11 | 11 |
R53 | 17 | 17 |
R51 | 35 | 34 |
R20 | 22 | 21 |
R15 | 15 | 13 |
H88 | 85 | 80 |
H85 | 85 | 80 |
H79 | 99 | 95 |
H77 | 85 | 78 |
H72 | 80 | 74 |
H69 | 72 | 68 |
H65 | 80 | 70 |
H64 | 68 | 64 |
H26 | 26 | 24 |
H18 | 40 | 40 |
H16 | 64 | 64 |
Histral® | Ohm mm²/m soft |
Ohm mm²/m hard |
---|---|---|
Cu | 0.0171 | 0.0178 |
R59 | 0.4900 | 0.4900 |
R56 | 0.4000 | 0.4000 |
R55 | 0.3000 | 0.3000 |
R54 | 0.1500 | 0.1500 |
R53 | 0.1000 | 0.1000 |
R51 | 0.0500 | 0.0500 |
R20 | 0.0800 | 0.0840 |
R15 | 0.1110 | 0.1330 |
H88 | 0.0203 | 0.0216 |
H85 | 0.0203 | 0.0216 |
H79 | 0.0171 | 0.0178 |
H77 | 0.0203 | 0.0221 |
H72 | 0.0216 | 0.0240 |
H69 | 0.0239 | 0.0253 |
H65 | 0.0216 | 0.0246 |
H64 | 0.0254 | 0.0269 |
H26 | 0.0663 | 0.0718 |
H18 | 0.0439 | 0.0439 |
H16 | 0.0268 | 0.0268 |
Histral® | 1/°C |
---|---|
Cu | 0.00381 |
R59 | 0.00004 |
R56 | 0.00010 |
R55 | 0.00018 |
R54 | 0.00040 |
R53 | 0.00072 |
R51 | 0.00130 |
R20 | 0.00600 |
R15 | 0.00065 |
H88 | 0.00300 |
H85 | 0.00320 |
H79 | 0.00381 |
H77 | 0.00320 |
H72 | 0.00290 |
H69 | 0.00290 |
H65 | 0.00255 |
H64 | 0.00185 |
H26 | 0.00170 |
H18 | 0.00387 |
H16 | 0.00404 |
*Data depend on coating conditions, degree of cold working and thermal treatments during manufacturing process.