The effect of alloying elements on the corrosion resistance of brass

Abstract

A systematic study has been performed on the effect of alloying elements arsenic (As), antimony (Sb) and phosphorus (P) on the dezincification resistance of α-phase in brass. The result showed that P formed particles with Al and Fe already at relatively high temperatures, leaving no P in solid solution and thus no protection against dezincification. Arsenic only formed particles at lower temperatures and offers a satisfactory protecting. However, with increasing As levels grain boundary attack was observed. Samples alloyed with Sb show a satisfactory resistance to dezincification and no grain boundary attack. Finally, a combination of As and Sb at low alloying levels provided an excellent dezincification resistance for brass containing typical impurity levels.

This paper is part of a Themed Issue on Brass Alloys.

Keywords:

• Brass
• Dezincification
• Microstructure
• Heat-treatment
• Alloying element

Acknowledgements

Nordic Brass Gusum AB and IMI Hydronic Engineering AB are thanked for support, discussions and valuable comments throughout the work. The authors thank Hans Magnusson for his contribution to the ThermoCalc development, Hans Bergqvist who performed the SEM and TEM analyses and Bevis Hutchinson for reviewing this paper.