Joining Aluminium Alloy 5A06 to Stainless Steel 321 by Vaporizing Foil Actuators Welding with an Interlayer

Direct aluminium–stainless steel joints are difficult to create by the vaporized foil actuator welding (VFAW) method because brittle intermetallic compounds (IMCs) tend to form along the interface. The use of an interlayer as a transition layer between the two materials with vast difference in hardness and ductility was proposed as a solution to reduce the formation of the IMCs. In this work, VFAW was used to successfully weld sheet aluminium alloy 5A06 to stainless steel 321 with a 3003 aluminium alloy interlayer. Input energy levels of 6 kJ, 8 kJ, 10 kJ, and 12 kJ were used and as a trend, higher energy inputs resulted in higher impact velocities, larger weld area, and better mechanical properties. In lap-shear and peel testing, all samples failed at the interface of the interlayer and target. At 10 kJ energy input, flyer velocities up to 935 m/s, lap-shear peak load of 44 kN, and peel load of 2.15 kN were achieved. Microstructure characterization and element distribution were performed, and the results show a wavy pattern created between the flyer and interlayer which have similar properties, and the interface between the interlayer and target was dominated by element diffusion and IMCs identified mainly as FeAl3 and FeAl. The results demonstrate VFAW is a suitable joining method for dissimilar metals such as aluminium alloy and stainless steel, which has a broad and significant application prospect in aerospace and chemical industry.

Peel strength characterisation on ply/ply interface using wedge and T-peel/pull-type tests

Thermoplastic tapes have found a prominent place in automated tape placement (ATP), due to their reduced processing time. ATP also offers significant reduction in labour; however, the most attractive aspect is the use of its welding properties. Welding or diffusion bonding is necessary for two thermoplastic materials to bond to each other through the combined effect of heating and consolidation pressure. The work published in this article shows how various thermoplastic tape materials with different material properties are bonded to each other using a direct flame-type ATP process. Contact angle and differential scanning calorimetry measurements help understanding of the processing needs of the considered materials. The samples obtained after ATP are sent for peel testing using a wedge peel test principle, so that the force required to separate the bonding is identified. A T-peel test/pull test is also employed to cross-compare peel results obtained through wedge peel testing. The main aim of the work is to study the quality of connection between the two plies with different material interfaces and also how friction might contribute to peel force when wedge peeling is used. A numerical model is also implemented to show the effects of this friction.

Characterization and failure mode analyses of air plasma oxidized PDMS–PDMS bonding by peel testing

(a) Specimen geometry for peel test. (b) Specimen setup in Instron without loading (c) and under loading. (Units in mm. Dimensions not to scale.)