Microstructure and Interfacial Reactions During Vacuum Brazing of Stainless Steel to Titanium Using Ag-28 pct Cu Alloy

Microstructural evolution and interfacial reactions during vacuum brazing of grade-2 Ti and 304L-type stainless steel (SS) using eutectic alloy Ag-28 wt pct Cu were investigated. A thin Ni-depleted zone of α -Fe(Cr, Ni) solid solution formed on the SS-side of the braze zone (BZ). Cu from the braze alloy, in combination with the dissolved Fe and Ti from the base materials, formed a layer of ternary compound τ2, adjacent to Ti in the BZ. In addition, four binary intermetallic compounds, Cu3Ti2, Cu4Ti3, CuTi and CuTi2 formed as parallel contiguous layers in the BZ. The unreacted Ag solidified as islands within the layers of Cu3Ti2 and Cu4Ti3. Formation of an amorphous phase at certain locations in the BZ could be revealed. The β -Ti(Cu) layer, formed due to diffusion of Cu into Ti-based material, transformed to an α -Ti + CuTi2eutectoid with lamellar morphology. Tensile test showed that the brazed joints had strength of 112 MPa and failed at the BZ. The possible sequence of events that led to the final microstructure and the mode of failure of these joints were delineated

Microstructure and Interfacial Reactions During Active Metal Brazing of Stainless Steel to Titanium

Abstract Microstructural evolution and interfacial reactions during active metal vacuum brazing of Ti (grade-2) and stainless steel (SS 304L) using a Ag-based alloy containing Cu, Ti, and Al was investigated. A Ni-depleted solid solution layer and a discontinuous layer of (Ni,Fe)2TiAl intermetallic compound formed on the SS surface and adjacent to the SS-braze alloy interface, respectively. Three parallel contiguous layers of intermetallic compounds, CuTi, AgTi, and (Ag,Cu)Ti2, formed at the Ti-braze alloy interface. The diffusion path for the reaction at this interface was established. Transmission electron microscopy revealed formation of nanocrystals of Ag-Cu alloy of size ranging between 20 and 30 nm in the unreacted braze alloy layer. The interdiffusion zone of β-Ti(Ag,Cu) solid solution, formed on the Ti side of the joint, showed eutectoid decomposition to lamellar colonies of α-Ti and internally twinned (Cu,Ag)Ti2 intermetallic phase, with an orientation relationship between the two. Bend tests indicated that the failure in the joints occurred by formation and propagation of the crack mostly along the Ti-braze alloy interface, through the (Ag,Cu)Ti2 phase layer.</jats:p