What values of electrical conductivity can be obtained in high purity copper castings? Are they comparable to the values available for wrought alloys?
A Generally the values of International Annealed Copper Standard for conductivity (IACS) values are lower than those of the wrought alloys due to the presence of a small % of gas porosity and a small % of impurities such as iron. A value of 93% IACS is guaranteed but with a very low porosity % and very pure copper, values up to 102% IACS may be obtained. Reputable foundries carry out careful conductivity checks on the copper raw material used for casting, such as offcuts of busbars or cathode copper, to ensure that as high a conductivity as possible is obtained.
