Root cause analysis on manufacturing defects in brass oxygen valves

Brass valves are widely used in oxygen gas cylinder systems to regulate pressure and ensure safe operation. The production methods for brass valves include hot forging (700 °C), stress-relieving (300 °C), shot blasting, machining, and selective chrome plating on the external surface. Pneumatic testing at 400 bar has detected more than 10 % of the product production was found to have signs of leakage, and the most severe was when there were visible hairline cracks on the inner wall. Therefore, several tests to investigate valve failure were conducted to identify the root cause of the failure using a series of microscopic methods on the failed sample as well as the as-received brass billet. The study found that hairline cracks in brass valves were most likely caused by internal dross originating from the billet that was not properly removed during the casting process. The presence of dross in the billet manufacturing stage was identified as the primary reason for valve failure. Hot forging and other manufacturing techniques were found to be insufficient to eliminate the formation of dross, leading to a deterioration in the mechanical properties of the valves. In order to overcome this issue, flux can be added to the molten brass to help remove impurities and reduce the formation of dross. As a result, the mechanical properties of the final product deteriorated even though it had gone through the forging process.