Diffusion Bonding of Aluminium Alloys to Titanium

TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 307/1986

By R V Sharples and I A Bucklow

Background

Possible techniques for overcoming the problem of the tenacious oxide layer on aluminium, which is believed to hinder diffusion bonding, were investigated. Such techniques were broadly based on the principles of removing, disrupting or penetrating the oxide layer in the belief that true metal-to-metal contact would enable the achievement of higher bond strengths. Titanium was chosen for bonding, because the combination of Al and Ti represents a dissimilar metal combination which would benefit from the lower temperatures involved in diffusion bonding.