The key difference between alpha alpha-beta and beta brass is that alpha brass has a homogenous crystal structure with less than 36% zinc content, and alpha-beta brass has a heterogeneous crystal structure with around 35-45% zinc content, whereas beta brass has a homogenous structure with about 45-50% zinc content.
Brass is a copper-zinc alloy; its zinc content is up to around 45% of the weight. Generally, manufacturers add tin, aluminium, silicon, manganese, nickel, and lead to brass as additional alloying elements. We can obtain desirable properties of brass by varying the composition percentages. Due to its outstanding castability and low cost, brass is the most common copper alloy.
Zinc in brass makes it stronger and cheaper but reduces the electrical conductivity and is resistant to corrosion. In addition, changing the zinc percentage gives the variation of colour in brass. Due to its yellowish/golden colour of brass, they are useful for decorative purposes. Malleability is one of the vital properties of brass. Because of this, brass can be thinned out to very fine foils. Malleability depends on the zinc content of brass. Brass with high zinc content is less malleable. In addition, the coefficient of friction of brass is low. This property makes brass suitable for low friction applications.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Alpha Brass
3. What is Alpha-Beta Brass
4. What is Beta Brass
5. Alpha vs Alpha-Beta vs Beta Brass in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Alpha vs Alpha-Beta vs Beta Brass
What is Alpha Brass?
Alpha brass is a type of brass having a copper crystal structure in face centred cubic structure and a zinc content up to about 36%. It is a solid with good mechanical properties and excellent corrosion resistance. However, it has a low electrical conductivity compared to copper. This type of brass is useful in many engineering materials required for forging, pressing, etc.
What is Alpha-Beta Brass?
Alpha-beta brass is a type of brass containing a high zinc content and is subjected to dezincofication corrosion easily. It usually contains 35-45% zinc. This type of brass is useful in hot working and extrusion applications.
What is Beta Brass?
Beta brass or beta phase of brass is a type of brass having a copper crystal structure in a body-centred cubic structure, and the content of zinc is about 45-50%. It is comparatively a hard form of brass and quite tough at room temperature. This type of brass is useful in casting applications.
What is the Difference Between Alpha Alpha-Beta and Beta Brass?
There are different types of brass, such as alpha, alpha-beta and beta brass. The key difference between alpha alpha-beta and beta brass is that alpha brass has a homogenous crystal structure with less than 36% zinc content and alpha-beta brass has a heterogeneous crystal structure with around 35-45% zinc content, whereas beta brass has a homogenous structure with about 45-50% zinc content. Moreover, alpha brass has a face-centred cubic structure while alpha-beta brass has a combination of face-centred cubic structure and body-centred cubic structure, whereas beta brass has a body-centred cubic structure.
The below infographic lists the differences between alpha alpha-beta and beta brass in tabular form for side by side comparison
Summary – Alpha vs Alpha-Beta vs Beta Brass
There are different types of brass, such as alpha, alpha-beta, and beta brass. The key difference between alpha alpha-beta and beta brass is that alpha brass has a homogenous crystal structure with less than 36% zinc content and alpha-beta brass has a heterogeneous crystal structure with around 35-45% zinc content, whereas beta brass has a homogenous structure with about 45-50% zinc content.
Reference:
1. Bell, Terence. “Learn About the Different Brass Types.” ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Persian astrolabe” By Jacopo188 – fa:پرونده:اسطرلاب مسطح سدسي.JPG (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia