Physical Properties and Methods of Test For Some Sheet Non-Ferrous Metals

This paper covers an investigation which was u n d e r t a k e n to secure a simple a n d reliable m e t h o d of test for sheet non-ferrous metals. An a c c o u n t of t h e early development w o r k leading to t h e a d o p t i o n of t h e Rockwell hardness tester for a preliminary inspection of sheet metals a n d t h e tensile test as t h e basic test to be referred to in case t h e Rockwell test results were near to or outside the established Rockwell limits for a given lot of material was published in 1927. 1 T h e c o n t i n u a t i o n of this work i n c l u d i n g establishment of te^t l i m i t s for four grades of brass a n d for t w o grades each of nickel silver a n d phosphor bronze will be published this year. 2 This present paper describes t h e development work reported by these t w o papers. Considerable a t t e n t i o n has been given to t h e R o c k w e l l tester, which, as a result of this work, has been f o u n d satisfactory for use as a specification i n s t r u m e n t for brasses 0.020 in. a n d thicker, when used under standardized m e t h o d s of test a n d calibrated w i t h standard test blocks. O t h e r tests such as t h e bend test, d u c t i l i t y test a n d other hardness tests have been studied b u t further development work is necessary. T h e Rockwell hardness a n d tensile strength limits are given for four alloys of brass, a n d t w o alloys each of nickel silver a n d phosphor bronze. T h e physical properties of t h e rolling series u p o n w h i c h these limits were based are presented as well as experience d a t a o b t a i n e d on shipments of commercial material.