TW201408793A - Brass alloy with low contraction and corrosion resistance - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention provides a brass alloy formulation with low contraction and corrosion resistance. Based on the weight percentage of each ingredient in the formulation, the composition comprises 58-64% of the copper (Cu), 0.1-0.3 of the tin (Sn), not greater than 0.25% of the lead (Pb), 0.01-0.15% of the phosphorus (P), and a total of 0.01-0.4% of at least two of the nickel, niobium, zirconium or aluminum, the remainder being zinc (Zn) and unavoidable impurities. In addition, in the brass alloy formulation with low contraction and corrosion resistance, the amount of copper plus zinc is not less than 98 wt%. The above-mentioned brass alloy formulation with low contraction and corrosion resistance has the excellent material performance, the toughness and the workability, and the dezincification capability of the brass is increased.

Description

Low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy

This invention relates to a brass alloy, and in particular to a brass alloy having low shrinkage and corrosion resistance properties.

The main components of the existing non-environmental lead-containing brass are copper and zinc, and the ratio of the two is usually about 7:3 or 6:4, and usually contains a large amount of impurities. In order for brass to have good machinability, the known brass composition contains 1-3% lead by weight. Lead-containing brass is an industrially important material and is widely used in metal equipment such as pipelines, faucets, water supply/drainage systems, or metal valves.

However, with the rise of environmental awareness, the impact of heavy metals on human health and environmental pollution has received increasing attention. Therefore, limiting the use of lead-containing alloys is a current trend. Japan, the United States and other countries have successively revised relevant regulations to promote the reduction of lead content in the environment, including lead-containing alloy materials for household appliances, automobiles, and water peripheral products. In particular, it is not required to leach lead to drinking water from products, and processing Lead contamination must be avoided during the process. As a result, the industry is eager to develop lead-free brass materials, looking for brass alloys that can replace lead-containing brass, taking into account casting properties, machinability, corrosion resistance, and mechanical properties.

Most of the early brass research used strontium to replace lead that is harmful to humans as a cutting element. The lead-free brass has excellent casting properties, high mechanical processing and subsequent polishing, and high plating yield. Therefore, it is undoubtedly the first consideration to replace lead. . The chemical properties of bismuth are similar to those of arsenic and antimony, and arsenic and antimony have been found to inhibit the dezincification of brass. However, in the brass alloy, niobium is easily segregated on the grain boundary. Secondary processing (forging, welding) is prone to material cracking. And the elemental element has weak radioactivity, which is actually harmful to the human body. Therefore, although the elemental element can replace the lead element in a short period of time, in the medium and long term, it is imperative to seek other alloying elements to replace lead and antimony.

It can be seen that the existing brass alloy products and their manufacturing methods obviously still have inconveniences and defects, and need to be further improved. In order to solve the above problems, the relevant manufacturers do not bother to seek solutions. Therefore, the new brass alloy ratio and its products are the targets that the industry needs to improve, and it is also an important research topic.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a formula of a low shrinkage and corrosion resistant brass alloy with the addition of a biomedical element bismuth, which overcomes the inevitable dezincification behavior of the existing brass alloy material and causes severe corrosion and perforation of the casting, thereby affecting the safety of the alloy. defect. The low-shrinkage and corrosion-resistant brass formula with the addition of biomedical elements has excellent material properties, good toughness and processability, can improve the strength and corrosion resistance of the alloy, and can be used in high corrosive behavior environments such as ships, which is very suitable for practical use.

The object of the present invention and solving the technical problems thereof are achieved by the following technical solutions. The composition of each component of the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation proposed according to the present invention is: by weight percentage: copper: 58-64%, tin: 0.1-0.3%, lead: not more than 0.25%, phosphorus: 0.01- 0.15%, and at least two of the nickel, lanthanum, zirconium or aluminum elements are 0.01-0.4%, the balance being zinc (Zn) and unavoidable impurities, and the low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy formulation is Copper plus zinc is not less than 98 wt%.

The following technical solutions can also be adopted for the purpose of the present invention and solving the technical problems thereof. to realise.

The aforementioned low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation wherein the bismuth is from 0.07 to 0.15% by weight.

The aforementioned low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation wherein the tin is from 0.15 to 0.25% by weight.

The aforementioned low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation wherein the lead is from 0.08 to 0.2% by weight.

The aforementioned low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation wherein the phosphorus is from 0.08 to 0.15% by weight.

The object of the present invention and solving the technical problems thereof can also be achieved by the following technical solutions. The composition of each component of the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation is: by weight percentage: copper: 58-64%, tin: 0.15-0.25%, lead: 0.08-0.2%, phosphorus: 0.08-0.15%, and others Among the elements such as nickel, lanthanum, zirconium and aluminum, at least two of them are added in an amount of 0.07-0.25%, the balance being zinc and unavoidable impurities, and the composition of the low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy is not less than copper and zinc. 98 wt%.

The low shrinkage and corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation of the invention has excellent material properties, good toughness and processability, can improve the strength and corrosion resistance of the alloy, and has obvious advantages and beneficial effects compared with the prior art. As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the main technical contents of the present invention are as follows: To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy formulation having a cerium content of from 0.01 to 0.4% by weight of at least one of nickel, zirconium and aluminum. In the embodiment of the present invention, the content of bismuth is 0.07-0.15%, and the amount of shrinkage can be greatly reduced and the fluidity can be improved after casting. And the alpha phase change in brass increases its resistance to dezincification.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy having an aluminum content of from 0.01 to 0.4% by weight. In the embodiment of the present invention, the content of aluminum is 0.07-0.15%, and the appropriate addition of aluminum can remove oxygen, purify the copper liquid, and if it is excessively changed, the aluminum oxide remains, and the slag is easily trapped.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy having a nickel content of from 0.01 to 0.4% by weight. In the embodiment of the present invention, the content of nickel is 0.07-0.15%, and the zinc equivalent point of nickel is a negative value, which is added to contribute to the formation of the α phase in the brass metallography, so that the brass has corrosion resistance and toughness. The material is not brittle.

In order to achieve the above object, the content of zirconium in the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy provided by the present invention must be 0.01 to 0.4% by weight. In the embodiment of the present invention, the content of zirconium is 0.07-0.15%, and the appropriate addition of zirconium can form a heterogeneous nucleation point in the brass metallurgical phase to refine the crystal grains.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation having a tin content of from 0.1% to 0.3% by weight. In the embodiment of the invention, the tin content is from 0.15 to 0.25%. A proper amount of tin can greatly improve the corrosion resistance, and tin can be solid solution strengthened in brass to improve strength and hardness.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation having a lead content of no greater than 0.25% by weight. In the embodiment of the invention, the content of lead is from 0.08 to 0.15%.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation having a phosphorus content of from 0.01 to 0.15% by weight. In an embodiment of the invention, phosphorus is added to 0.08-0.15%. Phosphorus is a good deoxidizer, after addition The fluidity during casting is greatly improved, and phosphorus stabilizes the corrosion-resistant α phase in the brass and enlarges the α phase.

With the above technical solution, the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation of the present invention has at least the following advantages and benefits:

First, the use of a biomedical material that is harmless to the human body as a substitute element can improve the fluidity of the brass during casting and greatly reduce its shrinkage, and achieve the anti-zinc removal effect and improve the corrosion resistance of the brass.

Second, since a very small amount of lead is added, an insoluble solid solution can be formed in the copper and uniformly dispersed between the two phases of the brass, which can significantly improve the cutting energy of copper.

Third, the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation of the present invention can significantly improve the mechanical properties, corrosion resistance of the brass, as well as the strength and hardness of the alloy. It can improve the machinability of the alloy material, thereby improving the cutting performance of the brass.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments thereof, and those skilled in the art can Other advantages and effects of the present invention are understood.

In this specification, unless otherwise stated, the composition of the brass alloy formulation is based on the total weight of the alloy and is expressed in weight percent (wt%).

The inventors of the present invention found that when a high content of tin (Sn) (2 wt% or more) is added to a brass alloy, a large amount of Y phase is generated microscopically, causing serious Corrosion and hardness are greatly improved and difficult to process.

The present invention provides a low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation with the addition of elemental bismuth. In high temperature smelting, the ruthenium is coated in a copper tube to force the bismuth and brass to form an intermediate product and dissolve into the brass.

Figure 1 is a comparison of the metallographic structure of a low-shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy formulation with a phosphorus content of 0.01-0.15 wt% and a low-shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy formulation with no element added. Part (a) is 64 brass without any added elements, (b) is a low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy with added element bismuth, and (c) is low shrinkage resistant with a phosphorus content of 0.01-0.15 wt%. Corrosion brass alloy formulation. In the present embodiment, the content of cerium is from 0.07 to 0.15 wt%, the content of phosphorus is from 0.08 to 0.15 wt%, and the content of tin is from 0.1 to 0.3 wt%.

From the results of part (b) of Figure 1, it is known that the addition of elemental bismuth can greatly reduce the shrinkage of the brass alloy, improve the fluidity, and stabilize the corrosion-resistant α phase in the brass, and the α phase change in the brass. More, which in turn increases the resistance to dezincification.

From the results in part (c) of Figure 1, it is known that phosphorus is a good deoxidizer. Adding 0.08-0.15 wt% phosphorus can greatly improve the fluidity during casting, and phosphorus will stabilize the corrosion-resistant α phase in brass. Expand the alpha phase. Adding too much tin causes the formation of a brittle phase Y phase in brass, which seriously affects corrosion resistance and mechanical properties, so the tin content ranges from 0.1 to 0.3 wt%, preferably from 0.15 to 0.25 wt%.

Further, the low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy formulation of the present invention is added with an elemental bismuth, and the content of lead is not more than 0.25% by weight. Since lead is hardly soluble in brass, dispersing in a free state in a solid solution can significantly improve the cutting performance of copper.

The present invention is based on the concern that excessive lead can pollute the environment and harm the human body. The examples were carried out in a ratio which did not affect the safety of the living body and which achieved the effect of the free-cutting brass. The brass alloy formulation with a lead content of 0.08-0.15% has the best overall effect.

In general, brass chips are roughly classified into three types: roll-type chips, C-type short chips, and chip-like chips. Among them, roll-type chips can be expected to stick to the knife and affect the machine-added performance. Type C short chips can be expected to have Good machine-added performance, flaky chips can be expected to have the best machine performance.

Fig. 2 is a comparison of stereomicrographs of different chip shapes after a cutting test of a low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy test piece to which element bismuth is added. Part (a) is a low-shrinkage and corrosion-resistant brass alloy coil with added lead and a lead content of 0.08-0.15%, and (b) a low-shrinkage corrosion-resistant part with an additive element and a lead content of 0.08-0.15%. Brass alloy cutting C-type short chips, (c) part of the added element 铌 and lead content of more than 2% low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy chip flakes, (d) part of the added element 铌 and lead content is not A low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy test piece of more than 0.25 produces a stereomicrograph similar to the shape of flakes after the cutting test.

According to the foregoing, the addition of an element to a low-shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy not only solves the defects of material cracking, but also achieves the material properties (such as machinability) of lead brass (such as the well-known H59 lead brass). And it is not easy to produce product defects such as cracks or inclusions. Therefore, the low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy formulation of the invention can not only greatly reduce the use of lead, improve the mechanical properties of the alloy, but also effectively reduce the production cost of the brass alloy, and has great advantages for commercial mass production and application. .

In addition, the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation according to the present invention, The lead content in the alloy can be reduced to less than 0.2 wt%, in accordance with international regulations for lead content of pipeline materials in contact with water. Therefore, the lead-free phosphor bronze alloy of the present invention is advantageous for the manufacture of faucets and bathroom components, tap water pipelines, water supply systems and the like.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by way of illustrative embodiments.

Test Example 1:

Under the same process and the same operating conditions, the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulations of the present invention (Examples 1 to 3), the lead-free brass (Comparative Examples 1 to 2), and the H59 lead brass, respectively (Comparative Example 3) To 4) for the material, the same product is cast, and the processing characteristics of each alloy and the process yield at each stage are compared. Among them, the process yield is defined as follows:

The production yield of the process reflects the quality stability of the production process, and the higher the quality stability, the normal production can be guaranteed. Table 1 shows the trial statistics of different proportions of products.

It can be seen from Table 1 that when the product is cast by using the traditional lead-free bismuth brass as the material, the obtained product has more casting defects, so the total production yield of the product is less than 60%, and the higher the cerium content, the lower the yield. The main defects of castings with completely lead-free bismuth brass were observed: pores, slag inclusions, hot turtle cracks, insufficient filling, shrinkage cavities, and defective products with these defects accounted for 71% of all defective products. In conclusion, the molten copper solution of lead-free bismuth brass has poor fluidity and poor filling property to the mold. Castings are prone to underfill conditions. In addition, castings are prone to cracks, and some tiny cracks can be found in the final polishing stage, and the castings are prone to slag inclusions and pores. Moreover, the completely lead-free bismuth brass has poor machinability, and is prone to problems such as vibrating knives and sticking knives, resulting in low yield of subsequent machining. On the contrary, the test group with the low shrinkage and corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation of the embodiment of the present invention has a good total yield (up to 90% or more), and the material fluidity is close to the well-known H59 lead brass. After the casting process is optimized, a radial dendritic phase structure with low embrittlement sensitivity is formed when the casting solidifies. The low shrinkage and corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation of the embodiment of the present invention can prevent the defects such as cracks while ensuring the machinability, and can fully satisfy the production requirements.

Test Example 2:

3A, 3B, and 3C show the distribution of the structure of the brass material test piece of Example 3, Comparative Example 1, and Comparative Example 4, which were magnified 100 times under the optical metallographic microscope, respectively.

The composition of the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation of Example 3 was found to be Cu: 62.13 wt%; Bi: 0.0061 wt%; Al: 0.03 wt%; Pb: 0.11 wt%; Mg: 0.002 wt%; Zr: 0.003 Wt%; Ni: 0.048 wt%; Sn: 0.220 wt%; Sb: 0.06 wt%; Nb: 0.2 wt%; P: 0.12 wt%.

3A shows the weave distribution of the low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy formulation of Example 3, which exhibits a rounded crystalline phase structure, and a part of the crystal grains are finely rounded, which makes the material easier to break and provides good machinability; Compared with the high example, the ductility will be improved, and the material has low brittle fracture sensitivity and is not easy to be broken, so that defects such as cracks are less likely to occur.

The main components of the lead-free brass of the lanthanide series of Comparative Example 1 were: Cu: 62.48 Wt%; Bi: 0.762 wt%; Al: 0.513 wt%; Pb: 0.0075 wt%; Mn: 0.0047 wt%; Ni: 0.210 wt%; Sn: 0.364 wt%; Sb: 0.0028 wt%.

3B shows the microstructure distribution of the lead-free brass of the lanthanide series of Comparative Example 1. When the yttrium content is high, the heterogeneous nucleation sites are increased and the nucleation rate is fast, and the α phase composition is too cold, and the formed crystal grains are mostly branched. The arm shape is rarely blocky. Therefore, the niobium segregates at the grain boundary to produce a continuous sheet-like flaw, which causes the mechanical strength of the material to be broken, the hot brittleness and the cold brittleness to be improved, and the material is easily cracked.

The main components of H59 lead brass of Comparative Example 4 were found to be: Cu: 61.1 wt%; Bi: 0.0089% wt%; Al: 0.589 wt%; Pb: 1.54 wt%; Mn: 0.0009 wt%; Ni: 0.147 wt%; Sn: 0.342 wt%; Sb: 0.0010 wt%.

Fig. 3C shows the microstructure distribution of H59 lead brass, the alloy α phase is round and granular, has good toughness, and is not susceptible to cracks and the like.

Test Example 3:

According to NSF 61-2007a SPAC single product metal allowable precipitation standards to test the metal precipitation of brass alloy in the environment in contact with water. The test results are shown in Table 2.

Table 2 shows that the metal precipitation of the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation of the present invention is below the upper limit standard value and meets the requirements of NSF 61-2007a SPAC.

Moreover, the low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy formulation of the present invention precipitates more heavy metal lead than the H59 lead brass, and is also lower than the lead-treated H59 lead brass, in accordance with NSF-61-2007a. The environmental protection requirements of SPAC and the future European market are more conducive to human health and safety.

Test Example 4:

The dezincification test was carried out with the brass alloys of Example 3 and Comparative Example 2 to measure the corrosion resistance of the brass. The dezincification test is carried out in accordance with the Australian AS2345-2006 "copper alloy anti-dezincification" standard. The phenolic wax was mounted before the corrosion test. The exposed area was 100 mm ² , and all the test pieces were ground and smoothed by 600# metallographic sandpaper, washed and dried with distilled water. The test solution was a fresh 1% CuCl ₂ solution at a test temperature of 75 ± 2 °C. The test piece and the CuCl ₂ solution were placed in a constant temperature water bath for 24 ± 0.5 hours, and then taken out and cut longitudinally. After the cross section of the test piece was polished, the corrosion depth was measured and observed by a digital metallographic electron microscope.

Figure 4A shows the metallographic structure of the anti-dezincification corrosion test of bismuth-free brass. As shown in FIG. 4A, the lead-free brass of Comparative Example 2 (Bi: 0.556%) had an average dezincification depth of 298.45 μm.

Figure 4B shows the metallographic structure of the anti-dezincification corrosion test of H59 lead brass. As shown in FIG. 4B, the average dezincification depth of the H59 lead brass of Comparative Example 3 was 204.64. Mm.

4C is a metallographic structure distribution of a low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation test piece of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 4C, the low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy formulation of Example 2 of the present invention has an average dezincification depth of 68.62 μm. The above results confirmed that the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation of the present invention is more resistant to dezincification corrosion.

Test Example 5:

A standard sample was prepared in accordance with ASTM E8-08 "Standard Test Method for Tensile Test of Metallic Materials", and mechanical properties were tested. The results are shown in Table 3 below.

As can be seen from Table 3, the tensile strength of the low shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy of the present invention is much higher than that of the H59 lead brass of Comparative Example 4 and the lead-free brass of Comparative Example 1, and the elongation and the H59 lead yellow of Comparative Example 4. Copper is equivalent, indicating that the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy of the present invention is superior to the mechanical properties of H59 lead brass and tantalum lead free brass.

Test Example 6:

The shrinkage measurement was carried out with the brass alloys of the examples and the comparative examples, and the solidification shrinkage value of the brass was measured. The method of measuring the shrinkage is as follows:

Pour about 43 grams of high temperature brass copper liquid into the experimental design of the flow mold, and observe the casting properties; the cooling process is filled with atomic shrinkage, the riser is a large number of shrinkage and designed to have a full volume of 5 × 1 × 1 cm ³ Estimate the amount of shrinkage using a simple principle. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the flow mode design of the test.

Take a plastic dropper with pure water, drop into the shrinkage hole with a fixed amount of 0.05 ml (ml) per drop volume, and calculate how many ml of pure water should be filled when the shrinking riser is filled. Formula conversion to determine the percentage of shrinkage. The formula for estimating the shrinkage amount is as follows. Table 4 below shows the results of the measurement of the amount of brass shrinkage in each group:

From the results of Table 4, the low-shrinkage and corrosion-resistant brass alloy of the present invention has a low shrinkage amount when the alloy solidifies and shrinks, and can reduce solidification cracks caused by severe shrinkage during casting, and has improved casting properties. advantage.

The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. A person skilled in the art can make some modifications or modifications to equivalent embodiments by using the above-disclosed technical contents without departing from the technical scope of the present invention. It is still within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention to make any simple modifications, equivalent changes and modifications to the above embodiments.

Figure 1 is a comparison of the metallographic structure of a low-shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy formulation with a phosphorus content of 0.01-0.15 wt% and a low-shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy formulation with no element added.

Fig. 2 is a comparison of stereoscopic micrographs of the chip shape after the cutting test, with a low shrinkage and corrosion-resistant brass alloy test piece with an elemental bismuth and different lead contents.

Figure 3A is a metallographic structure distribution of a low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation test piece of the present invention.

Figure 3B is a metallographic structure of a lead-free brass test piece.

Figure 3C shows the metallographic structure of the H59 lead brass test piece.

Figure 4A shows the metallographic structure of the anti-zinc corrosion test of lead-free brass.

Figure 4B is a metallographic structure of the anti-dezincification corrosion test of H59 lead brass.

Figure 4C is a metallographic group of the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation test piece of the present invention. Weaving distribution.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the flow mode design of this test.

Claims (15)

A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy comprising, by weight percent, 58-64% copper; 0.1-0.3% tin; no more than 0.25% lead; 0.01-0.15% phosphorus At least two of the nickel, lanthanum, zirconium or aluminum elements are from 0.01 to 0.4%; and zinc and unavoidable impurities, wherein the low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy formulation has a copper and zinc content of not less than 98 wt% . A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to claim 1 wherein said bismuth is from 0.07 to 0.15% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to claim 2, wherein the nickel is from 0.07 to 0.15% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to item 3 of the patent application, wherein the lead is 0.08-0.2% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to item 4 of the patent application, wherein the tin is from 0.15 to 0.25% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to item 5 of the patent application, wherein the phosphorus is from 0.08 to 0.15% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to claim 6 wherein said zirconium is from 0.07 to 0.15% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to item 7 of the patent application, wherein the aluminum is from 0.07 to 0.25% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to claim 1 wherein said nickel is from 0.07 to 0.15% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to claim 1 wherein said lead is from 0.08 to 0.2% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to claim 1 wherein said tin is from 0.15 to 0.25% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to claim 1 wherein said phosphorus is from 0.08 to 0.15% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to claim 1 wherein said zirconium is from 0.07 to 0.15% by weight. A low shrinkage corrosion resistant brass alloy according to claim 1 wherein said aluminum is from 0.07 to 0.25% by weight. A low-shrinkage corrosion-resistant brass alloy according to claim 1, wherein at least two of the nickel, lanthanum, zirconium or aluminum elements are 0.07-0.25%