Definition and Mechanism of ″Fire Cracking″ and Other Embrittlement Phenomena in Copper Alloys.

A review of embrittlement phenomena and brittle fractures in copper alloys is given with special emphasis on the problem of fire-cracking. Clear definitions of these phenomena are given to throw light on the present confusion in terminology characterizing this branch of material science. Various types of brittleness are described in detail and the mechanisms which can best describe all the observations so far are cited. Finally, an attempt is made to categorize these phenomena according to criteria which must be taken into account during the practical analysis of any given brittle fracture in copper alloys.