MICROSTRUCTURAL EVALUATION OF BRASS ALLOY C-360 SUBJECTED TO DIFFERENT HEAT TREATMENTS

Abstract

Brass is one of the most used metals in the world, it is used in several areas, mainly in areas where materials with good corrosion resistance are needed, such as parts of ship hulls and pipes. In addition to having good corrosion resistance, it also has excellent thermal properties. Thinking about the applications of Brass Alloy C 360, this work aimed to study the possible influence that some heat treatments may have on the microstructure and consequently on the mechanical properties of this alloy. As the heat treatment aims to modify the morphology of the microstructure, the samples were divided into 4 groups: (control sample, water temperature, oil temperature, normalization). With this, we carried out a metallographic study of all the pieces in order to analyze the phases presented and the grain size, as the smaller the grain, the more grain contours are found, increasing the mechanical resistance. To certify this, we perform Vickers microhardness tests. The load used was 0.1 kgf with this application lasting 10s. 5 observations were carried out for each sample, covering points throughout the sample, and I was able to quantitatively verify the change in hardness due to the change in its morphology. As tempering progresses, the hardness is higher than that of the standard parts and lower than that of the controlled sample.