Dezincification types

Parting, or Dealloying, Corrosion This type of corrosion occurs when only one component of an alloy is removed by corrosion. The most common type is dezincification of brass. 

Dezincification Dezincification is corrosion of a brass alloy containing zinc in which the principal product of corrosion is metallic copper. This may occur as plugs rilling pits (plug type) or as continuous layers surrounding an unattacked core of brass (general type). The mechanism may involve overall corrosion of the alloy followed by redeposition of the copper from the corrosion products or selective corrosion of zinc or a high-zinc phase to leave copper residue. This form of corrosion is commonly encountered in brasses that contain more than 15 percent zinc and can be either eliminated or reduced by the addition ox small amounts of arsenic, antimony, or ph osphorus to the alloy. 

Figure 13.1 Layer-type dezincification on a brass casting. The red layers are uniformly corroded regions. The original yellow of the brass is visible in between.

Layer-type dezincification is easy to recognize visually. The original component shape and dimensions are usually preserved, but the metal color changes from the golden yellow of zinc brass to the red of ele-... 

Flgure 13.2 Layer-type dezincification of a thin brass plate. The 0.019-in. (0.048-cm) plate is shown in cross section. The dezincified layers converge toward the plate edge. Note the porosity of the dezincified metal. 

Figure 13.5 Plug-type dezincification on the internal surface of a brass condenser tube. Note the extreme porosity of the copper plugs. Tube wall thickness was 0.040 in. (0.10 cm). Compare to Fig. 13.13. (Courtesy of National Association of Corrosion Engineers, Corrosion 89 Paper No. 197 by H. M. Herro.)...

Figure 13.8 A brass tube showing plug-type dezincification. The white patch above the plug on the external surface was caused by dissolved solids, concentrated by evaporation of water leaking through the porous dezincified plug.

Figure 13.9 Stratified copper corrosion product in plug-type dezincification. Denickelification...

Figure 13.10 A hole emanating from the internal surface of a brass condenser tube. The hole was caused by plug-type dezincification (see Fig. 13.11).

Figure 13.10S A transverse cross section through the tube wall in Fig. 13.10A. Note the through-wall plug-type dezincification.

Two sections of utility condenser tubing were received. One of the sections had deep plug-type dezincification on internal surfaces (Fig. 13.5) the other showed only superficial corrosion on internal surfaces (Fig. 13.13). 

A pump impeller and a shaft bushing from a small cooling water pump assembly were generally corroded. Reddish surface discoloration revealed layer-type dezincification (Figs. 13.14 and 13.15). 

In certain alloys and under certain environmental conditions selective removal of one metal (the most electrochemically active) can occur resulting in either localised attack, with the consequent possibility of perforation (plug type), or in a more uniform attack (layer type) that results in a weakening of the strength of the component. Although the selective removal of metals such as Al, Fe, Co, Ni and Cr from their alloys is known, the most prevalent form of de-alloying is the selective removal of zinc from the brasses —a phenomenon that is known as dezincification. 

Fig. 1.60 Dezincification and impingement attack of copper-altoy tubes, (a) Uniform layer dezincification of a brass, (b) banded dezincification of a brass, (e) plug-type dezincification and...

Dezincification is readily apparent, since the yellow colour of the brass is replaced by the characteristic red of copper, which may take the form of small plugs or of layers that in some cases can extend over the whole of the surface (Fig. 1.60). In plug-type dezincification a mechanically weak, porous residue of copper is produced, which may remain in situ or become removed by the pressure of water, leading to a perforation. In the layer type the transformation of the alloy into a mechanically weak layer of copper results in loss of strength, and failure may occur by splitting when the metal is subjected to water pressure or to external stress. 

Many of the alloys of copper are more resistant to corrosion than is copper itself, owing to the incorporation either of relatively corrosion-resistant metals such as nickel or tin, or of metals such as aluminium or beryllium that would be expected to assist in the formation of protective oxide films. Several of the copper alloys are liable to undergo a selective type of corrosion in certain circumstances, the most notable example being the dezincification of brasses. Some alloys again are liable to suffer stress corrosion by the combined effects of internal or applied stresses and the corrosive effects of certain specific environments. The most widely known example of this is the season cracking of brasses. In general brasses are the least corrosion-resistant of the commonly used copper-base alloys. 

With a single-phase brass the whole of the metal in the corroded areas is affected. Dezincification may proceed fairly uniformly over the surface, and this layer type takes much longer to cause perforation than the localised plug type that more often occurs . With a two-phase brass the zinc-rich 8 phase is preferentially attacked as shown in Fig. 4.12. Eventually the a phase may be attacked as well. The zinc corrosion products that accompany dezincification may be swept away, or in some conditions may form voluminous deposits on the surface which may lead to blockages, e.g. in fittings. 

In general, the rate of dezincification increases as the zinc content rises, and great care needs to be exercised in making brazed joints with copper/zinc brazing alloys, particularly if they are to be exposed to sea-water. Under these conditions, a properly designed capillary joint may last for some time, but it is preferable to use corrosion-resistant jointing alloys such as silver solders (e.g. BS 1845, Type AGJ or /4G5) . 

Addition of about 0 04% arsenic will inhibit dezincification of a brasses in most circumstances and arsenical a brasses can be considered immune to dezincification for most practical purposes . There are conditions of exposure in which dezincification of these materials has been observed, e.g. when exposed outdoors well away from the sea , or when immersed in pure water at high temperature and pressure, but trouble of this type rarely arises in practice. In other conditions, e.g. in polluted sea-water, corrosion can occur with copper redeposition away from the site of initial attack, but this is not truly dezincification, which, by definition, requires the metallic copper to be produced in situ. The work of Lucey goes far in explaining the mechanism by which arsenic prevents dezincification in a brasses, but not in a-/3 brasses (see also Section 1.6). An interesting observation is that the presence of a small impurity content of magnesium will prevent arsenic in a brass from having its usual inhibiting effect . 

In early times 70/30 brass condenser tubes failed by dezincification and Admiralty brass (70Cu-29Zn-lSn) was brought into use. This proved little better, but some time later the addition of arsenic was found to inhibit dezincification. Failures of Admiralty brass by impingement attack became a serious problem, particularly as cooling water speeds increased with the development of the steam turbine. The introduction of alloys resistant to this type of attack was a great step forward and immediately reduced the incidences of failure. 

As is the case with other types of corrosion testing, mass-loss determinations may fail to indicate the actual damage suffered by specimens that are attacked intergranularly or in such a manner as dezincification. In such cases, mechanical tests will be required as discussed already in the section on evaluation techniques. 

Dezincification Some brass alloys are susceptible to pitting corrosion or loss of zinc from the metal matrix. This type of corrosion usually occurs when metal is in contact with high percentages of oxygen and carbon dioxide. 

Figure 6.25 Selective corrosion by layer type (dezincification) of a bolt in brass7...

Figure 17. Light colored areas show plug-type dezincification in section of brass...

Figure 18. Thin cross-section of admiralty brass tube wall penetrated by plug-type dezincification. (Upper section) specimen polished, unetched. (Lower section) same specimen polished and etched. Magnification about 170 diameters.

Figure 7.36 a) Uniform (layer) dezincification and h) localized (plug-type) dezincification of brass. 

Intergranular corrosion, spongiosis, dezincification, and line and layer type corrosion are classified in this subgroup. Of particular importance is intergranular corrosion. 

---