Evaluation of Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of <i>α</i>-Brass Alloy Produced from Scrap Copper and Zinc Metal through Sand Casting Process

Abstract

Cu-Zn alloy (Brass) is widely used as an industrial material because of its excellent characteristics such as high corrosion resistance, non-magnetism and good forging ability. This paper evaluates the mechanical and microstructure properties of α -brass alloy gotten from scrap copper and zinc metal, and compares the properties with normal α -brass billets. Five different compositions of the α -brass alloy (Cu-5%Zn, Cu-10%Zn, Cu-15%Zn, Cu-20%Zn, Cu-30%Zn) were produced from scraps of copper wire and zinc batteries casing respectively by method of sand casting. The parts of the cast rods were machined to a specification of 60 mm × 100 mm × 300 mm on a lathe to obtain tensile test specimens. After homogenization annealing, the samples were heated in an electric furnace at 500 ℃ for 3 hours. The samples were etched with ferric chloride solution for 20 seconds and sent for metallographic examination. The result of the hardness test shows variation in hardness of the cast Cu-Zn alloys with increasing zinc content. The ductility and elongation of the α -brass decrease with increasing zinc content. The colouration of the α -brass changed from red to yellow as the zinc content increases. In conclusion, hard brass can be obtained from recycled Cu and Zn as compared to normal brass billets.