Stress corrosion cracking of beta-brasses in water

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) ofβ ^’-phase brasses in water at 20 °C was studied in four Cu-Zn binaries and one Cu-Zn-Sn ternary alloy using slow strain rate tensile tests and load relaxation SCC of notched rods. Electron diffraction techniques were used to identify phases on the fracture surfaces. All alloys were susceptible to SCC and it was found that decreasing the electron/atom(e/a) ratio of theβ ^’-phase promoted transgranular SCC and increased the rate of cracking. The most rapid crack propagation rates were associated with alloy compositions giving rise to a strain induced martensite transformation during SCC. Formerly Graduate Student at the University of British Columbia