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Muntz metal (also known as yellow metal) is an alpha-beta brass alloy composed of approximately 60% copper, 40% zinc and a trace of iron. It is named after George Fredrick Muntz, a metal-roller of Birmingham, England, who commercialised the alloy following his patent of 1832.Muntz's British patent of 22 October 1832 is reproduced verbatim in , together with reports of all the English litigation on the patent.Muntz's US patent, issued on 22 October 1832, was among the thousands destroyed in the 15 December 1836 Patent Office fire but was reported in Volume 12 (New Series) of the Journal of the Franklin Institute at p. 195 (1833) http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uva.x002092353?urlappend=%3Bseq=203
The alloy must be worked hot and is used today for corrosion-resistant machine parts. Alpha-beta (also called duplex) metals contain both the α and β phases. The α phase refers to a crystal structure that is face-centered cubic, while the β phase is body-centered cubic.
Its original application was as a replacement for copper sheathing on the bottom of boats, as it maintained the Biofouling abilities of the pure copper at around two thirds of the price. It became the material of choice for this application and Muntz made his fortune. It was found that copper prevented any organism that attempted to attach itself to a hull sheathed in the metal. Thus, it was also used to sheathe the piles of piers in tropical seas, as a protection against teredo , and in locomotive tubes. After successful experimentation with the sheathing Muntz also took out a patent for bolts of the same composition. These too proved a success as they not only were cheaper but also very strong and lasted longer. A notable use of Muntz metal was in the hull of the Cutty Sark.
With Muntz successfully supervising the manufacturing operations, by 1840 Muntz's Patent Metal Company employed 30 men to smelt and roll the alloy and was producing 2,000 tons yearly. Three years later the Company had over 200 men producing 3,000–4,000 tons yearly at £8 per ton profit. By then the Grenfells had left the partnership, for the agreement with Pascoe Grenfell & Sons had been terminated with some acrimony in 1842. When Muntz's patent expired in 1846, they and others began making fastenings and sheathing to the Muntz patent at will.
Muntz died in 1857, to be succeeded by his eldest son, also called George Fredrick, who sold the business in 1864 to a joint stock company, Muntz's Metal Co. Ltd. In 1921 the company was bought by Elliott's Metal Company, which became part of ICI's Imperial Metals division (now IMI plc) in 1928.
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