Naval brass C46400 is nominally composed of 60% copper, 39.2% zinc and 0.8% tin. As is typical of brass alloys with the duplex alpha + beta structure, C46400 has good strength and rigidity. By substituting tin for an equal quantity of zinc, a high corrosion resistance to seawater is achieved. The addition of tin also gives the alloy an inherent resistance to dezincification, thereby further inhibiting the impingement by seawater at higher than normal temperatures. The alloy is also noted for its resistance to wear, fatigue, galling, and stress corrosion cracking.

Characteristics

Hot Working and Cold Working

C46400 has excellent hot workability and fair cold workability. Characteristically, it becomes extremely plastic when hot, and is well adapted to any hot working process including hot forging and pressing, and hot heading and upsetting. It can be cold worked to a moderate degree using processes such as blanking, drawing, forming, bending, shearing, heading and upsetting.

Joining

Joining by soldering and brazing is excellent; by oxyacetylene welding, good; and by gas shielded arc welding, fair.

Typical Uses

Considered the most widely used of the tin brasses, C46400 rod is used to fabricate a variety of nuts, bolts, rivets, bearings, bushings, lock pins, valve stems, pump and propeller shafts, and marine hardware.