JIS H3300 vs ASTM B111: Copper Alloy Tube Standards Comparison

In numerous industrial sectors such as power plants, ships, petrochemicals, air conditioning, and refrigeration, heat exchangers function like the "lungs" of a system, constantly facilitating heat exchange. The core building material of this "energy bridge" is the copper alloy tube. Its performance directly determines the efficiency, service life, and reliability of the entire equipment.

When selecting production standards and grades for copper alloy tubes, several standards are typically available, including JIS H3300 and ASTM B111. Among these, ASTM B111 is the most widely applied standard.

JIS H3300: Japanese Standard for Copper and Copper Alloy Seamless Pipes and Tubes

ASTM B111: American Standard for Copper and Copper-Alloy Seamless Condenser Tubes and Ferrule Stock

Standard JIS H3300 vs ASTM B111 Scope of Application Comparison

Similarity: Both JIS H3300 and ASTM B111 specify that copper alloy tubes can be used in equipment like heat exchangers, evaporators, and condensers.

Difference: Compared to ASTM B111, JIS H3300 also specifies copper alloy tubes for use in water supply pipelines and air conditioning refrigeration.

Materials Comparison of JIS H3300 & ASTM B111

Grades

The table below lists all the grades from the ASTM B111 and JIS H3300 standards. JIS and ASTM have their own grade designation systems. While many grades have equivalents, they are not entirely one-to-one. Each standard may include some unique grades or have different subdivisions for the same type of alloy. The Japanese standard JIS H3300 divides grades more finely into ordinary class and special class, with the latter having more precise dimensions and tighter tolerances.

ASTM B111	JIS H3300
C10100	-
C10200	C1020/C1020T/C1020TS
C10300	-
C10800	-
-	C1100/C1100T/C1100TS
C12000	-
-	C1201/C1201T/C1201TS
C12200	C1220/C1220T/C1220TS
-	C1260/C1260T/C1260TS
C14200	-
-	C1565/C1565T/C1565TS
C19200	-
-	C2200/C2200T/C2200TS
C23000	C2300/C2300T/C2300TS
-	C2600/C2600T/C2600TS
-	C2700/C2700T/C2700TS
C28000	C2800/C2800T/C2800TS
C44300	C4430/C4430T/C4430TS
C44400	-
C44500	-
-	C5010/C5010T/C5010TS
-	C5015/C5015T/C5015TS
C60800	-
C61300	-
C61400	-
C68700	C6870/C6870T/C6870TS
-	C6871/C6871T/C6871TS
-	C6872/C6872T/C6872TS
C70400	-
C70600	C7060/C7060T/C7060TS
C70620	-
C71000	C7100/C7100T/C7100TS
C71500	C7150/C7150T/C7150TS
C71520	-
C71640	C7164/C7164T/C7164TS
C72200	-

Chemical Composition

According to the technical specification documents of both JIS H3300 and ASTM B111 standards, for common and mature copper alloy materials, the regulations for main alloying elements are essentially identical, with only minor differences in the content of certain elements.

Mechanical Properties

Similarities:

① Both standards specify key mechanical property indicators:

Minimum Tensile Strength

Minimum 0.2% Proof Strength (Yield Strength)

Minimum Elongation after Fracture

② Both standards clearly state that mechanical properties are closely related to the materials "Temper." Requirements are specified separately for soft (annealed) states and various hard (cold-worked) states.

Differences:

Compared to ASTM B111, JIS H3300 additionally provides detailed regulations for the tubes hardness. If required by the buyer, hardness should be used, and when hardness is used, tensile strength and elongation should not be.

Furthermore, JIS H3300 includes descriptions and specifies relevant performance parameters for high-strength copper and copper alloy tubes used in pressure vessels.

JIS H3300 vs ASTM B111 Copper Alloy Tube Temper Comparison

Since mechanical properties are intimately related to the state of the copper alloy, the JIS and ASTM standards assign the following heat treatment symbols based on the heat treatment state of the copper tube:

JIS H3300		ASTM B111
O	Fully recrystallized or annealed	O61	Annealed
OL	Annealed or lightly worked	HR50	Drawn and stress-relieved
1/2H	Half hard	H55	Light-drawn
3/4H	3/4 hard	H80	Hard-drawn
H	Fully hard	HE80	Hard-drawn and end annealed

O temper (Annealed): Full Annealing

→ Heated to a relatively high temperature with sufficient holding time, allowing full recrystallization within the material, almost completely eliminating internal stresses and work-hardening effects from cold working, restoring the material to its softest and most ductile state.

OL temper (Light Annealed): Light Annealing

→ Heated to a relatively lower temperature, possibly with a shorter holding time; annealing is incomplete. It partially relieves internal stress and work hardening but retains some of the strength from cold working, representing a state between "hard" and "fully soft."

Copper tubes can be categorized as "soft copper tubes," "hard copper tubes," and "half-hard copper tubes." These distinctions stem from different heat treatment processes.

Pure copper becomes hard after drawing, rolling, or stretching at room temperature, forming so-called "hard copper." Hard copper has high tensile strength but lower conductivity. Therefore, to improve the workability and conductivity of pure copper, a "continuous softening method" is adopted: hard copper is placed in an annealing furnace heated to 250-350°C, or heated by electric current for "self-annealing," and then coiled.

The copper alloy tube temper depends on the final usage requirements:

O temper: Required for extensive bending, tube expanding, flaring processing.

Hard temper: Required for high strength, vibration resistance, and erosion resistance.

OL temper: Only mild forming operations are needed, but slightly higher strength and stiffness (slightly better collapse resistance, vibration resistance) are desired after forming.

Dimensional Tolerances Comparison of JIS H3300 and ASTM B111

Outside Diameter Tolerances

In accordance with JIS H3300

OD or ID (mm)	Ordinary Class	Special Class
4≤D≤15	±0.08 mm	±0.05 mm
15<D≤25	±0.09 mm	±0.06 mm
25<D≤50	±0.12 mm	±0.08 mm
50<D≤75	±0.15 mm	±0.1 mm
75<D≤100	±0.2 mm	±0.13 mm
100<D≤125	±0.27 mm	±0.15 mm
125<D≤150	±0.35 mm	±0.18 mm
150<D≤200	±0.5 mm	-
200<D≤250	±0.65 mm	-
250<D≤350	±0.4%	-

According to JIS H3300, the following outside diameter tolerances apply to copper alloy tubes for heat exchangers: C4430, C6870, C6871, C6872, C7060, C7100, C7150, and C7164.

OD (mm)	Ordinary Class	Special Class
		WT≤1.1mm	WT>1.1mm
5≤D≤10	+0 mm -0.15 mm	+0 mm -0.10 mm	+0 mm -0.10 mm
10<D≤20	+0 mm -0.25 mm	+0 mm -0.20 mm	+0 mm -0.17 mm
20<D≤30	+0 mm -0.40 mm	+0 mm -0.30 mm	+0 mm -0.22 mm
30<D≤50	+0 mm -0.60 mm	+0 mm -0.40 mm	+0 mm -0.30 mm

In accordance with ASTM B111

OD (mm)	WT (mm)
	0.508 0.559 0.635 0.711	0.813	0.889	1.07	≥1.24
OD≤12	±0.076 mm	±0.064	±0.064	±0.064	±0.064
12<OD≤18	±0.1	±0.1	±0.1	±0.089	±0.076
18<OD≤25	±0.15	±0.15	±0.13	±0.11	±0.1
25<OD≤35	-	-	-	±0.2	±0.13
35<OD≤50	-	-	-	-	±0.15
50<OD≤79	-	-	-	-	±0.17

Wall Thickness Tolerances

In accordance with JIS H3300

OD (mm)	WT (mm)
	0.25≤WT≤0.4	0.4<WT≤0.6	0.6<WT≤0.8	0.8<WT≤1.4	1.4<WT≤2	2<WT≤3	3<WT≤4	4<WT≤5.5	5.5<WT≤7	WT>7
Ordinary Class
4≤OD≤15	±0.06	±0.07	±0.10	±0.13	±0.15	±0.18	-	-	-	-
15<OD≤25	±0.07	±0.08	±0.10	±0.15	±0.18	±0.20	±0.30	±0.40	±0.45	-
25<OD≤50	-	±0.09	±0.11	±0.15	±0.18	±0.20	±0.30	±0.40	±0.45	±8%
50<OD≤100	-	-	±0.15	±0.18	±0.22	±0.25	±0.30	±0.40	±0.45	±8%
100<OD≤175	-	-	-	±0.22	±0.25	±0.30	±0.35	±0.42	±0.45	±9%
175<OD≤250	-	-	-	-	±0.30	±0.35	±0.40	±0.45	±0.50	±9%
250<OD≤300	-	-	-	-	-	±0.40	±0.45	±0.45	±0.50	±10%
300<OD≤350	-	-	-	-	-	-	±0.50	±0.50	±0.60	±12%
Special Class
4≤OD≤15	±0.03	±0.05	±0.06	±0.08	±0.09	±0.10	-	-	-	-
15<OD≤25	±0.04	±0.05	±0.06	±0.09	±0.10	±0.13	±0.15	-	-	-
25<OD≤50	-	±0.06	±0.08	±0.09	±0.10	±0.13	±0.18	-	-	-
50<OD≤100	-	-	±0.10	±0.13	±0.15	±0.18	±0.20	-	-	-

In accordance with ASTM B111

WT (mm)	OD (mm)
	12<OD≤25	25<OD≤50	50<OD≤80
0.5≤WT<0.8	±0.08	-	-
0.8≤WT<0.9	±0.08	±0.10	-
0.9≤WT<1.5	±0.11	±0.11	±0.13
1.5≤WT<2.1	±0.13	±0.13	±0.14
2.1≤WT<3	±0.17	±0.17	±0.17
3≤WT<3.4	±0.18	±0.19	±0.20

JIS H3300 vs ASTM B111 Copper Alloy Tube Grain Size Comparison

Both JIS H3300 and ASTM B111 explicitly specify grain size requirements only for materials in the annealed condition, with no requirements for the hard temper.

In accordance with JIS H3300

Grade	Temper	Grain Size (mm)
C1020/C1201/C1220/C1260	O	0.025-0.060
	OL	≤0.040
C1565/C1862/C5010/C5015	O	≤0.040
C2200/C2300/C2600/C2700	O	0.025-0.060
	OL	≤0.035
C4430/C6870/C6871/C6872/C7060/C7100/C7150/C7164	O	0.010-0.045

ASTM B111 stipulates that the average grain size for copper alloy tubes, except for C19200 and C28000, should be within the range of 0.010-0.045 mm.

Why do JIS H3300 and ASTM B111 only have grain size requirements for annealed copper alloy tubes?

The reason behind this stems from a fundamental principle of materials science: the microstructure of a material determines its macroscopic properties, and the dominant microstructural feature differs under various processing conditions.

Annealed Condition (O temper): Grain size is the core control indicator.

Annealing is a heat treatment process involving recrystallization and grain growth. After cold working, the materials internal grains are fragmented and full of defects (dislocations), placing it in a high-energy, unstable state. Annealing heating provides energy for new grains to nucleate and grow, forming new, strain-free equiaxed grains.

In this state, grain size becomes the most critical microstructural factor influencing the materials properties.

For tubes requiring subsequent operations like expanding or bending (e.g., heat exchanger tubes), uniform, fine grains are crucial. Coarse grains can lead to "orange peel" surface appearance and are prone to cracking during processing.

Hardened Condition (H temper): The amount of cold work deformation (or the final mechanical properties) is the core control indicator; the original grain size is no longer key.

The hardened condition (e.g., H14, H18) is achieved through cold working (e.g., drawing, rolling), not heat treatment. During this process, the morphology of the grains changes; the original equiaxed grains are elongated, fragmented, forming a fibrous deformed structure.

Therefore, for hardened materials, the standards directly specify mechanical properties (such as tensile strength, yield strength, elongation) or hardness, which is more direct, effective, and reliable than specifying a "grain size" that is difficult to measure accurately and does not play a dominant role.

JIS H3300 vs ASTM B111 Copper Alloy Tube Application

JIS H3300: Japanese region projects, high-precision heat exchanger tubes, air conditioning and refrigeration industry.

ASTM B111: European and American markets, marine environments, or highly corrosive conditions (e.g., power plant condensers).