Diffusion Bonding of Duplex Stainless Steel and Ti Alloy with and without Interlayer
In the present study, the microstructure and strength properties of diffusion bonded joints of duplex stainless steel (SS) to Ti alloy (TiA) with and without nickel alloy (NiA) as an intermediate material was investigated in the temperature range of 800-950°C for 60 mins in vacuum. In the case of directly bonded stainless steel and titanium alloy, the layer wise σ phase and λ+FeTi phase mixture were observed at the bond interface. However, when nickel alloy was used as an interlayer, the interfaces indicate that Ni3Ti, NiTi and NiTi2 are formed at the nickel alloy-titanium alloy interface and the stainless steel-nickel alloy interface is free from intermetallics up to 875°C and above this temperature, Fe-Ti and Fe-Cr-Ti base intermetallics were formed. The irregular shaped particles have been observed within the Ni3Ti intermetallic layer. The joint tensile and shear strength were measured; a maximum tensile strength of ~519.2MPa and shear strength of ~398.3MPa were obtained for direct bonded joint when processed at 875°C. However, when nickel base alloy was used as an interlayer in the same materials at the bonding temperature of 900°C the bond tensile and shear strength increases to ~596.5MPa and ~434.4MPa, respectively. Keywords: Diffusion bonding, intermetallic compounds, interlayer, SEM, XRD