December 27, 2011

[ALPHA PLUS BETA BRASS]

Introduction
Brasses:
Brasses are alloys of copper and zinc. These alloys may have small amounts of other alloying elements such as tin or aluminum. Variations in composition will result in desired strength, ductility, machinability, corrosion resistance or a combination of such properties.(1)

Types of Brasses:1) Alpha Brasses 2) Alpha plus Beta Brasses

1) Alpha Brasses:Brasses containing up to 36% zinc are known as alpha brasses. These possess relatively good corrosion resistance and good working properties. The color of alpha brasses varies according to copper content from red for high copper to yellow for about 62% copper. (1)

2) Alpha plus Beta Brasses:Brasses containing 54 to 62% copper are known as alpha plus beta brasses. These alloys consist of two phases and . These are difficult to cold work but have excellent hot working properties. (1) These brasses are further divided into following categories: Muntz metal:This is most widely used + brass. Its composition is 60%Cu-40%Zn. It has high strength and excellent hot working properties. Muntz metal is used in sheet form for shipsheathing, condenser heads, perforated metal and architectural work. (1)

December 27, 2011

[ALPHA PLUS BETA BRASS]

Free Cutting Brass:Its composition is 61.5Cu-35.5Zn-3Pb.it has best machinability combined with good mechanical and corrosion properties. It is used for hardware, gears, and automatic high speed screw machine parts. (1) Forging Brass:Its composition is 60Cu-38Zn-2Pb. It has best hot working properties and is used for hot forgings, hardware and plumbing parts. (1) Architectural Bronze:Its composition is 57Cu-40Zn-3Pb. It has excellent forging and free matching properties. Typical applications are handrails, decorative moldings, grilles, storefronts, hinges, lock bodies, and industrial forgings. (1) Naval Brass:Composition is 60Cu-39.25Zn-0.75Sn. it has increased resistance to salt water corrosion and is used for condenser plates, welding rod, propeller shafts, piston rods, and valve stems. (1) Manganese Bronze:Composition is 58.5Cu-39Zn-1.4Fe-1Sn-0.1Mn. it has high strength combined with excellent wear resistance and is used for clutch disks, extruded shapes, forgings, pump rod, shafting rods, valve stems, and welding rods. (1)

Experimental Procedure:
1234Take sample of + Brass. Polish the sample. Etch the sample. Observe the microstructure using optical microscope.

Results and Discussion:

Fig. 1 shows the microstructure of + Brass. Dark area is phase and light is phase. This structure is island of in matrix. Solid solution of zinc in copper is . Copper is f.c.c. so is also f.c.c. in structure.(1) The -brasses, being solid solutions of zinc in the crystal lattice of copper are very ductile, soft and malleable.(3) The phase is b.c.c. electron compound and undergoes ordering. On cooling below 454468C, phase with copper and zinc atoms randomly dispersed at lattice points changes to ordered structure in which copper atoms are at corners and zinc atoms at center of cubes. The phase is harder and brittle at room temperature. Fig. 2 shows that + brass exists in the range of 38-46% Zn.

December 27, 2011

[ALPHA PLUS BETA BRASS]

From table 1 we can see that both tensile strength and ductility increases by increasing zinc percentage. The best combination of strength and ductility is obtained in 70Cu-30Zn brass. As zinc is increased from 35% to 40% strength and hardness increased and elongation is decreased abruptly, this is due to appearance of phase which is hard and brittle. Alloy with 40% zinc lies in range of + brass. It means that + brass has relatively high strength but low ductility. Table 1 Effect of Zinc on Properties of Copper Alloys(1) Zn % Tensile Strength (psi) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 (+) 32,000 36,000 41,000 42,000 43,000 45,000 46,000 46,000 54,000 Elongation %in 2 in 46 49 52 56 59 62 65 60 45 BHN 10mm, 500kg 38 49 54 58 56 54 55 55 75

December 27, 2011

[ALPHA PLUS BETA BRASS]

Conclusion:
From above discussion we can conclude that + brass has two phases, and . We can also conclude, that strength of + brass is increased and ductility is decreased because of phase.

References:
1) Introduction to Physical Metallurgy by Sidney H. Avner (2nd edition) 2) http://www.keytometals.com/Article69.htm 3) http://metalpass.com/metaldoc/paper.aspx?docID=64

December 27, 2011

[ALPHA PLUS BETA BRASS]

Preface
This report contains introduction about the brass, types of brass, types of + brass, microstructure of + brass and discussion about different phases present in Cu-Zn phase diagram related to + brass. It also contains effect of zinc on properties of copper alloys.