Stress-corrosion cracking of alpha-brass without copper oxidation

Journal Article · Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2221049· OSTI ID:6449180

Shahrabi, T; Newman, R C ^[1]; Sieradzki, K ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Manchester (United Kingdom)
2. Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States)

Transgranular stress-corrosion cracking without copper oxidation has been demonstrated in [alpha]-brass, confirming the findings of Bertocci, Thomas, and Pugh (1984). Cracks continued to propagate in monocrystals at potentials as low as [minus]40 mV vs. a copper reference electrode in 15 M NH[sub 3] + 0.04M Cu(I) solutions. Residual Cu(II) in these solutions was no more than 1 [mu]M and polarized the reference electrode by no more than 3 mV from the Cu/Cu(I)[sub aq] equilibrium potential. Polycrystals showed similar behavior except that cracking was intergranular at [minus]40 mV and transgranular at 0 mV or at the open-circuit potential ([minus]10 to [minus]20 mV). Arsenical brass showed more rapid dezincification and possibly more rapid cracking than arsenic-free brass. Impedance characteristics of copper and brass electrodes were measured, and the latter displayed pseudoinductive features due to the dezincification reaction.

• OSTI ID: 6449180
• Journal Information: Journal of the Electrochemical Society; (United States), Vol. 140:2; ISSN 0013-4651
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
BRASS-ALPHA
STRESS CORROSION
ARSENIC
COPPER
CRACK PROPAGATION
CRACKS
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
INTERGRANULAR CORROSION
OXIDATION
POLYCRYSTALS
ALLOYS
BRASS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COPPER ALLOYS
COPPER BASE ALLOYS
CORROSION
CRYSTALS
DATA
ELEMENTS
INFORMATION
METALS
NUMERICAL DATA
SEMIMETALS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
ZINC ALLOYS
360105* - Metals & Alloys- Corrosion & Erosion