Brass recrystallization temperature

Minor additions of arsenic (0.02—0.5%) to copper (qv) and copper alloys (qv) raise the recrystallization temperature and improve corrosion resistance. In some brass alloys, small amounts of arsenic inhibit dezincification (22), and minimize season cracking. 

Figure 5.18 Influence of annealing temperature on tensile strength and ductility of a brass alloy. Grain structures during recovery, recrystallization, and grain growth are shown schematically. Reprinted, by permission, from W. Callister, Materials Science and Engineering An Introduction, 5th ed., p. 175. Copyright 2000 by John WUey Sons, Inc.

The major or exclusive constituent of yellow brass is P brass which is the intermetallic CuZn phase. It exhibits an A2 structure at high temperatures and a B2 structure at low temperatures, i.e. there is an order-disorder transition at about 460°C (Flinn, 1986 Massalski et al., 1990). Its range of homogeneity - between about 40 and 50 at.% Zn at higher temperatures - depends sensitively on temperature and does not include the stoichiometric 50 at.% composition at intermediate temperatures. This order-disorder transition has been used to study the effect of ordering, e.g. on elastic behavior (Westbrook, 1960 a Quillet and Le Roux, 1967), diffusion (Qirifalco, 1964 Hagel, 1967 Wever et al., 1989 Wever, 1992), recrystallization (Cahn, 1991), and hardness (Westbrook, 1960 a). 

In steels, moderate plastic deformation and low annealing temperature are beneficial in developing the recrystallization texture. Planar anisotropy increases with increasing deformation and higher annealing temperature in copper sheets, whereas the inverse is found in brass sheets [28]. 

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