brass

Information about brass

“Brazen” redirects here. For the Skunk Anansie song, see Brazen (Weep).


Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses, each of which has unique properties[1]. Note that in comparison bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin.[2]. Despite this distinction, some types of brasses are called bronzes. Brass is a substitutional alloy. It is used for decoration for its bright gold-like appearance; for applications where low friction is required such as locks, gears, bearings, ammunition, and valves; for plumbing and electrical applications; and extensively in musical instruments such as horns and bells for its acoustic properties.

Enlarge picture
A decorative brass paperweight, left, along with zinc and copper samples.
Brass has a yellow color, somewhat similar to gold. It is relatively resistant to tarnishing, and is often used as decoration and for coins.

Brass has likely been known to humans since prehistoric times, even before zinc itself was discovered. It was produced by melting copper together with calamine, a zinc ore. In the German village of Breinigerberg an ancient Roman settlement was discovered where a calamine ore mine existed. During the melting process, the zinc is extracted from the calamine and mixes with the copper. Pure zinc, on the other hand, has too low a boiling point to have been produced by ancient metalworking techniques. The many references to 'brass' appearing throughout the King James Bible are thought to signify another bronze alloy, or copper, rather than the strict modern definition of 'brass'[3].

Properties

The malleability and acoustic properties of brass have made it the metal of choice for brass musical instruments such as the trombone, tuba, trumpet, euphonium, and the French horn. Even though the saxophone is classified as a woodwind instrument and the harmonica is a free reed aerophone, both are also often made from brass. In organ pipes designed as "reed" pipes, brass strips are used as the "reed".

Brass has higher malleability than copper or zinc. The relatively low melting point (900–940 °C depending on composition) of brass and its flow characteristics make it a relatively easy material to cast. By varying the proportions of copper and zinc, the properties of the brass can be changed, allowing hard and soft brasses.

Today almost 90% of all brass alloys are recycled. Because most brass is nonmagnetic, it can be separated from ferrous scrap by passing the scrap near a powerful magnet. Brass scrap is collected and transported to the foundry where it is melted and recast into billets. Billets are later heated up and extruded into the right form and size.

Aluminum makes brass stronger and more corrosion resistant. Aluminum also causes a highly beneficial hard layer of aluminium oxide (Al2O3) to be formed on the surface that is thin, transparent and self healing. Tin has a similar effect and finds its use especially in sea water applications (naval brasses). Combinations of iron, aluminum, silicon and manganese make brass wear and tear resistant. A well known alloy used in the automotive industry is 'LDM C673', where the right combination of manganese and silicon lead to a strong and resistant brass.

The so called dezincification resistant (DZR) brasses, like alloy 'LDM G563' (known for its brand name 'Enkotal'), are used where there is a large corrosion risk and where normal brasses do not meet the standards. Applications with high water temperatures, chlorides present or deviating water qualities (soft water) play a role. DZR-brass is excellent in water boiler systems. This brass alloy must be produced with great care, with special attention placed on a balanced composition and proper production temperatures and parameters to avoid long-term failures. Drunen, Netherlands, has the only active production facility which makes these high grade brass alloys.

The copper in brass makes brass germicidal, via the oligodynamic effect. For example, brass doorknobs disinfect themselves of many bacteria within eight hours [1]. This effect is important in hospitals, but useful in many contexts.

Brass was used to make fan blades, fan cages and motor bearings in many antique fans that date before the 1930s. Brass can be used for fixings for use in cryogenic systems, however its use is not limited to this. [4]

The density of brass is approximately 8.4 g/cm3.

Brass types

  • Admiralty brass contains 30% zinc and 1% tin which inhibits dezincification in most environments.
  • Alpha brasses (Prince's metal), with less than 35% zinc, are malleable, can be worked cold, and are used in pressing, forging, or similar applications. They contain only one phase, with face-centered cubic crystal structure.
  • Alpha-beta brass (Muntz metal), also called duplex brass, is 35-45 % zinc and is suited for hot working. It contains both α and β' phase; the β'-phase is body-centered cubic and is harder and stronger than α. Alpha-beta brasses are usually worked hot.
  • Aluminum brass contains aluminum, which improves its corrosion resistance. Used in Euro coins (Nordic gold).
  • Arsenical brass contains an addition of arsenic and frequently aluminium and is used for boiler fireboxes.
  • Beta brasses, with 45-50 % zinc content, can only be worked hot, and are harder, stronger, and suitable for casting.
  • Cartridge brass is a 30% zinc brass with good cold working properties.
  • Common brass, or rivet brass, is a 37% zinc brass, cheap and standard for cold working.
  • DZR brass is Dezincification resistant Brass with a small percentage of Arsenic.
  • High brass, contains 65% copper and 35% zinc, has a high tensile strength and is used for springs, screws, rivets.
  • Leaded brass is an alpha-beta brass with an addition of lead. It has excellent machinability.
  • Low brass is a copper-zinc alloy containing 20% zinc with a light golden color, excellent ductility and is used for flexible metal hoses and metal bellows.
  • Naval brass, similar to admiralty brass, is a 40% zinc brass and 1% tin.
  • Red brass, while not technically brass, is an American term for CuZnSn alloy known as gunmetal.
  • White brass contains more than 50 % zinc and is too brittle for general use.
  • Yellow brass is an American term for 33% zinc brass.
  • Gilding metal is the softest type of brass commonly available. It is an alloy of 95% copper and 5% zinc and is typically used for ammunition components.

See also

External links

References

1. ^ Engineering Designer, v 30, n 3, May-June 2004, 6-9
2. ^ Machinery Handbook'', Industrial Press Inc, New York, Edition 24, page 501
3. ^ Cruden's Complete Concordance p. 55
4. ^ [2] Example patent referring to fixings
Released June 1997
Format CD, Cassette
Genre Rock
Length 4:31
Label One Little Indian (UK)
Writer(s) Skin, Cass, Ace
Producer(s) GGGarth.
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An alloy is a homogeneous hybrid of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resulting material has metallic properties. The resulting metallic substance usually has different properties (sometimes substantially different) from those of its components.
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2, 1
(mildly basic oxide)
Electronegativity 1.90 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 745.5 kJmol−1
2nd: 1957.9 kJmol−1
3rd: 3666 kJmol−1

Atomic radius 135 pm
Atomic radius (calc.
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Zinc (IPA: /ˈzɪŋk/, from German: Zink) is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30.
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Bronze is any of a broad range of copper alloys, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon. (See table below.) It was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age.
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TIN may refer to:
  • Tax identification number
  • Triangulated irregular network, a data structure used in a geographic information systems

See also

  • Tin
This article is about the metallic chemical element.

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An alloy is a homogeneous hybrid of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resulting material has metallic properties. The resulting metallic substance usually has different properties (sometimes substantially different) from those of its components.
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brass instrument is a musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator. They are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments" (Baines, 1993).
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GOLD refers to one of the following:
  • GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade).
  • GOLD (parser) is an open source BNF parser.

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Tarnish is a layer of corrosion that develops over copper, brass, silver, aluminum as well as a degree of semi-reactive metals as they undergo oxidation. It is analogous to rust, but with a slower rate of occurrence. It is mainly caused by chemicals in the air such as sulphur.
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Calamine is a historic name for an ore of zinc. The name calamine was derived from the Belgian town of Kelmis, whose French name is "La Calamine", which is home to a zinc mine.
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Breinigerberg is one of 17 districts and villages belonging to the city of Stolberg (Rhineland), which is one of the major cities in the district of Aachen. Breinigerberg is administered by Cologne. According to a census dated December 31st, 2005 the village had 971 inhabitants.
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King James Version

Full name: King James Version
Authorized Version

Abbreviation: KJV or AV

Complete Bible published: 1611

Textual Basis: Textus Receptus, 57% deviation from Nestle-Aland 27th edition (NT)
Translation type: 2% paraphrase rate
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brass instrument is a musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator. They are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments" (Baines, 1993).
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A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. In principle anything that, produces sound, and can somehow be controlled by a person playing it, can serve as a musical instrument.
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The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, it is a lip-reed aerophone; sound is produced when the player’s buzzing lips (embouchure) cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate.
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The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched of brass instruments. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely
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trumpet is a musical instrument in the brass family. The trumpet has the highest register in the brass section; a standard B flat trumpet has a range comparable to the B flat cornet, a piccolo trumpet is an octave higher.
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The euphonium is a conical-bore, baritone-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "beautiful-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" (eu means "well" or "good" and phonium means "voice").
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The horn (also known as the French horn) is a brass instrument descended from the natural horn that consists of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. Modern horns have three, four, or five finger-operated keys to help control the pitch.
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The saxophone (colloquially referred to as sax) is a conical-bored instrument of the woodwind family.

It is usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece like the clarinet.
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A woodwind instrument is an instrument in which sound is produced by blowing against an edge or by a vibrating with air a thin piece of wood known as a reed. Most of these instruments were originally made of wood, but some such as the saxophone and some flutes are now made of other
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A harmonica is a free reed wind instrument. It has multiple, variably-tuned brass or bronze reeds which are secured at one end over an airway slot in which they can freely vibrate. The vibrating reeds repeatedly interrupt the airstream to produce sound.
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free reed aerophone is a musical instrument where sound is produced as air flows past a vibrating reed in a frame. Air pressure is typically generated by breath or with a bellows.
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organ pipe is a sound-producing element of the pipe organ that resonates at a specific pitch when pressurized air (commonly referred to as wind) is driven through it. Each pipe is tuned to a specific note of the musical scale.
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Aluminium oxide is an amphoteric oxide of aluminium with the chemical formula Al2O3. It is also commonly referred to as alumina in the mining, ceramic and materials science communities.
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Selective leaching, also called dealloying, demetalification, parting and selective corrosion, is a corrosion type in some solid solution alloys, when in suitable conditions a component of the alloys is preferentially leached from the material.
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The oligodynamic effect (Greek oligos = few, dynamis = force) was discovered in 1893 by the Swiss KW Nägeli as a toxic effect of metal-ions on living cells, algae, moulds, spores, fungi, virus, prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms, even in relatively low concentrations.
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cryogenics is the study of the production of very low temperatures (below –150 °C, –238 °F or 123 K) and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. (Rather than the familiar temperature scales of Fahrenheit and Celsius, cryogenicists use the Kelvin and Rankine
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TIN may refer to:
  • Tax identification number
  • Triangulated irregular network, a data structure used in a geographic information systems

See also

  • Tin
This article is about the metallic chemical element.

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