Understanding H59 Brass and H62 Brass

Brass is an alloy mainly consists of copper and zinc, the varying content of chemical elements leads to the difference between each type of brass.

There are many international standards for metal and alloy designation, here we are going to talk about two types of brass from GB/T system: H59 and H62, with lots of similarities, what’s the difference between them and which one to choose if H59 vs H62 brass?

What are H59 Brass and H62 Brass?

Copper can be divided into electrolytic copper and copper alloy, then the copper alloy includes brass, bronze, and white brass (also called copper-nickel, paktong, or cupronickel).

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; bronze is an alloy of copper and tin; white brass is an alloy of copper and nickel. Brass H62 and H59 are both a kind of copper alloy, as the game suggests, with copper content close to 62% and 59% respectively.

H62 brass refers to a type of ordinary brass with an average copper content of 62%, the “H” in H62 which from GB (Guobiao) standards, represents the first letter of the Pinyin of the Chinese character “Huang”, and 62 represents the average content of copper. The ordinary brass added other elements called special brass, which is still represented by “H”, followed by the added chemical symbols and their average composition. For example, HAl59-3-2 contains 57%-60% copper, 2.5%-3.5 aluminum, 2%-3% nickel and the remainder is zinc.

H59 brass with high strength, high hardness, and poor plasticity. It also can withstand pressure processing under the hot state, its corrosion resistance is average and other properties are similar to H62.

H59 vs H62 Brass, Which One to Choose - Difference Between H59 and H62

H62 and H59 are two types of ordinary brass, with similar characteristics, but differ in cost. The H62 is a little more expensive due to the relatively higher copper content. What are other differences between H62 and H59, and which alloy should you choose in different applications?

1. The most significant difference is their copper content and chemical composition.

Composition of H59 Brass:

Copper (Cu): 57 – 60%

Lead (Pb): ≤ 0.5%

Phosphorus (P): ≤ 0.01%

Iron (Fe): ≤ 0.3%

Stibium (Sb): ≤ 0.01%

Bismuth (Bi): ≤ 0.003%

Zinc (Zn): remainder

Impurity: ≤ 1.0%

Composition of H62 Brass:

Copper (Cu): 60.5 – 63.5%

Iron (Fe): ≤ 0.15%

Lead (Pb): ≤ 0.08%

Stibium (Sb): ≤ 0.005%

Bismuth (Bi): ≤ 0.002%

Phosphorus (P): ≤ 0.01%

Zinc (Zn): remainder

Impurity: ≤ 0.5%

2. Properties

H59 Properties:

Tensile strength σb (MPa): ≥ 294

Elongation δ10 (%): ≥ 25

Hot working temperature: 730 – 820 ℃

Annealing temperature: 600 – 670 ℃

H62 Properties:

Tensile strength σb (MPa): ≥ 315

Elongation δ10 (%): ≥ 30

Hot working temperature: 650 – 850 ℃

Annealing temperature: 600 – 670 ℃

3. Performance and applications.

H59 brass has cheap price and ordinary corrosion resistance, so it is generally used for machine parts, welding parts, hot stamping and hot rolling parts, suitable for electrical appliances, electronics, lighting, hardware, mounting horizontal, switch, gasket, battery contact piece, copper button, watch strap, decorative necklace, bracelet, ring and other brass products.

H62 brass has good mechanical properties, good corrosion resistance and better plasticity in hot or cold condition, it is easy to machine, braze and weld, but also easy to produce corrosion cracking, it can be used for parts need to withstand large load and the is a good material for making faucets. Common uses of H62 brass including pin, nut, washer, radiator, sugar industry, shipbuilding industry, paper industry, and other parts.