Naval Brass / Aluminium Brass

[rollingstein]

I have come across some equipment constructed out of Naval Brass / Aluminium Brass. Apparently these are common materials for marine applications. e.g. desalination heat exchangers etc.

Does anyone know how high a temp. these brasses can be used at? e.g. is 100 C OK? Also the crevice corrosion / pitting problems that are specific to Stainless Steels; brass does not have these problems, correct?

 

[Bystander]

brass does not have these problems, correct?

Depends on the brass. Hit Wiki for "naval brass" to get a quick overview of what alloying constituents help or hurt corrosion resistances of various brasses to various environments.

 

[Astronuc]

Brasses can have corrosion, including crevice and pitting corrosion, depending on the environment.

Admiralty brass (69 Cu, 30 Zn, 1 Sn) contains 1% tin to inhibit dezincification in many environments.
Naval brass (59 Cu, 40 Zn, 1 Sn)
Aluminum brass (77.5 Cu, 20.5 Zn, 2 Al) Aluminum improves corrosion resistance. It is used for heat exchanger and condenser tubes.[29]

Z. Xia and Z. Szklarska-Smialowska (1990) Pitting of Admiralty Brass. Corrosion: January 1990, Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 85-88.

See also - Copper Alloys for Marine Environments - http://www.copper.org/applications/marine/cuni/pdf/pub206.pdf