Non-Fusion Joining of Aluminium
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Non-fusion joining of aluminium P. BASAK, B. K. SAXENA and B. N. DAS OINING of aluminium is now a well established SYNOPSIS J technology. Successful joining can be done by TIG and MIG welding, pressure welding processes, This paper deals with various processes for non fusion brazing and soldering processes. Conventional fusion joining of aluminium . The processes of soldering have processes of joining aluminium are well known and are been dealt in details suggesting various soft solder flux widely used in India by all major fabricators. On the combinations , hard solder flux combinations for flux other hand, though non-fusion joining processes like soldering , friction soldering and reaction soldering. Brief soldering, brazing and pressure welding have wide field details of brazing alloys and fluxes have also been given. of applications the correct process and material required Usefulness of pressure welding in joining electrical are not very well known ; as such there is a specific conductors and other small items has been discussed need in India, at present, to disseminate the knowledge giving details of the process and types of pressure welding on joining of aluminium especially by these processes equipments available commercially . Brief mention has been which a small fabricator can handle. made to newer processes like ultrasonic and explosive Since small industries are called to fabricate com- joining. ponents from commercial grade aluminium only and most of the fabrications, by such fabricators, are that the joint does not require a high strength like a welded aluminium is attributed, as mentioned earlier, to a joint, attention has mainly been focussed to the soldering tenacious oxide layer which forms very rapidly and processes. Other non-fusion joining processes like braz- easily on exposure to air and is extremely difficult to ing and cold pressure welding have also been described. remove. The aluminium oxide is a refractory material, Brazing, which is sometimes termed as high tempera- chemically very inert, and has a very high melting point ture soldering, has wide application in industries in of about 2000°C. There is no fluxing material known India, whereas cold pressure welding though not very yet which will dissolve it at soldering temperature. widely in use is now finding wide application especially Secondly aluminium has a high heat conductivity. for joining of wire butt ends and terminals of Cooling occurs very rapidTy so that a relatively high contactors. heat input is necessary to maintain a stable soldering The difficulty of joining aluminium arises out of the temperature at the joint. tenacious oxide film which is formed spontaneously on its The third problem arises from the position of alu- surface. The high conductivity of aluminium makes minium in the electromotive series.' Solder joints in it necessary to provide and maintain high heat at the aluminium corrode electrolytically because galvanic joint head continuously while the soldering is carried cells are established in corrosive environments between out, making aluminium joining by soldering a special aluminium, the various phases in the solder, and the problem. layer that forms at the aluminium and solder interface. To ensure a good strength of the soldered joint, the Soldering electrode potential of the solder interface should be at lower level than the electrode potential of the solder Soldering is employed especially in the manufacture of material. irregular and complicated shapes and in constructions requiring joining of parts with marked differences in Joint design thickness e.g. joining of foil shaped parts to heavy castings. The use of the process is however generally Practically in all cases, the solder joint has the smaller limited to small assemblies and for such joints where strength in the structure unless the joint is specially the soldering tool can be well manipulated. designed. The strength of a properly made solder joint The problem of aluminium soldering is three-fold. is affected apart from the composition of the solder Firstly the great difficulty encountered in soldering and parent material, by the thickness of solder layer Messrs P. Basak, B. K. Saxena and B. N. Das, Scientists, National in the joint, the joint design and the susceptibility of Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur. the joint to corrosion. A selected solder, flux and metal 159 Basak et al.: Nay fusion joining of aluntin:am combination should have a specific joint gap at sol- the aluminium oxide film and allows the molten solder dering temperature to give a maximum shear strength. to make intimate contact with the base metal. The It has been found out that smaller the thickness of removal of oxide film by friction is achieved in two the solder, greater is the strength of the joint. How- ways. ever, a small clearance in case of aluminium solder 1. Mechanical scale removal by means of quartz joint may prevent good access of flux and solder, brush or wire brushing with the application of solder. resulting into incomplete filling of the gal) and conse- The same result can also be achieved by using an quent lowering of strength. So an optimum gap is to be abrasive pencil solder, which is essentially a rod sintered chosen. For higher soldering temperature smaller gap from a mixture of soldering metal powder and a may be suitable due to higher fluidity of the solder. refractory material like asbestos powder. The optimal For the same reason, it has been recommended that proportion of the components are stated to be :1 10% the size of the overlap should be smaller than in solder by weight of asbestos and 90% soldering alloy. The joints of other alloys, as greater overlap is liable to asbestos particles added to the molten solder apparently cause incomplete filling of the gap and penetration play the role of abrasive agents. of the fluxing material which is difficult to remove. The parts to he pretinned are preheated to a tempera- For soldering sheets of less than l mm the overlap ture exceeding by 25-50 ' C the melting point of the recommended' is seven times the thickness and in solder involved, and then tinned by means of the soldering sheets more than 1 mm the size of the overlap abrasive pencil by passing its ends several times over should not exceed 3 to 4 times the thickness. The the surface to be tinned. Usually the thickness of the length of the overlap in tubular joints should not solder layer should not exceed 0.05 mm.5 surpass 12 mm. If the strength of the joint is an im- In soldering, the pretinned surfaces placed one above portant requirement, locked joints should be used wher- the other, are rubbed against each other to obtain a ever possible, to mechanically reinforce the solder joint. smooth thin seam, and then cooled. Tinning by means of an abrasive pencil may be done without any special Soldering methods preparation of the surface such as pickling, steel brushing, emery cleaning and degreasing. Further, the Soldering of aluminium is rather a difficult job unless process offers an easy visual inspection of the work correct solder-flux combination is used and correct during soldering. Non-tinned portions of the surface technique is known and employed. The soundness of appear as dull spots through the bright lustrous tinned the soldered joint is largely dependent on the skill of layer. the operator to distribute the solder and flux at the 2. Aluminium alloys may also be tinned by using joint and abrade the joint with his tool---all of which a low-melting solder, having a wide crystallisation range. is very important in getting a good joint. In this case, the first grown solid crystals act as abrasive With the fluxes and solders available today, aluminium bodies which remove oxide film and as such the use of can however be soldered by using any of the under abrading tool is not required. Solders with a narrow mentioned normal soldering methods. The ease of range of crystallisation and particularly eutectic solders soldering is of course dependent upon a number of with sharp freezing point is therefore unable to remove factors. The more important of these factors are alloy the oxide skin from the surfaces to be soldered and composition, solder composition and flux composition, cannot be used as friction solder. the shape of the parts being soldered and the design of According to German Standards of solder (DIN joints. 1732), friction soldering may be carried out with the The tenacious oxide film on aluminium, makes alu- following zinc bearing solders. minium soldering a special problem and the problem of soldering aluminium is basically a problem of re- moving the oxide skin on the aluminium at the soldering Liquid Solidus temperature. This can be done in two ways :3 Chemical composition temperature temperature ial Mechanical removal of the oxide scale simul- 1. 85% Zn & 15 % Al 450°C 390°C taneously with application of molten solder or fluxless `friction soldering'. 2. 60% Zn & 40% Sri 370°C 200°C (b) Removal of the oxide layer by means of a suitable 3. 56% Zn & 449,0 Cd 340°C 280°C flux (flux soldering). Friction soldering The above solders have been used for joining cables Due to difficulty encountered in finding out suitable and cast aluminium parts. flux-solder combination, earlier processes of solder join- A suitable low melting solder containing 60% Sri ing were mostly friction soldering. In this method the and 40%, zinc has also been used for friction soldering joint surfaces are heated to the melting point of the of small joints and foils up to 0.2 mm thick. Another solder being used. The molten solder is then spread useful solder' of this group is 569,,1 tin, 34°x, zinc and over the joint surface which is then vigorously scraped 10% cadmium which melts at 250°C.