A interesting paper in « Case study in Engineering Failure Analysis » published on ScienceDirect.com. Copper alloys are widely used in electrical circuits mainly due to their electrical conductivity. This paper describes cracking of turret terminals made of free cutting brass during swaging operation.
Dhouha Melloulia, , Nader Haddara, Alain Kösterb, Hassine Ferid Ayedia
| a | Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry and materials, National Engineering School of Sfax, Box1173, W3038, Sfax, Tunisia |
| b | Centre des matériaux Pierre Marie Fourt, Ecole des Mines de Paris |
This research has been conducted to elucidate the mechanisms of brass die casting failure. A die was examined and we have evaluated the causes of crack failure mechanisms after use in brass die casting. The dominating failure mechanism in the investigated die was thermal fatigue cracking. Crack initiation is associated to accumulation of the local plastic strain that occurs during each casting cycle. The crack growth is facilitated by a number of elements: oxidation of the cracks’ surfaces, filling of brass and softening of the die material.
