A thermodynamic database for special brass

In the present work a thermodynamic database for brass alloys is developed. The database may be used to calculate phase diagrams and property diagrams and to simulate solidification, calculations that may be used to develop new alloys and to increase the understanding of existing ones. When developed, such a database reduces the need for further experimental investigations considerably. The present work is focused on so-called special brass (i.e., alloys of Cu and Zn with small additions of, for instance, Al, As, B, Fe, Pb, and/or Si). The database was created using available thermodynamic descriptions and unavailable systems were assessed using the CALPHAD technique. Experimental information was taken from literature and from experimental results obtained in the present work. The database contains the elements Al, Cu, Pb, Si, and Zn. Calculated phase diagrams show that the peritectic reaction in the Cu-Zn system is very sensitive to small additions of Al and Si, which moves the peritectic reaction towards lower Zn contents and higher temperatures.