Contact reactive brazing of Al alloy/Cu/stainless steel joints and dissolution behaviors of interlayer

Contact reactive brazing of 6063 Al alloy and 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel was researched by using Cu as interlayer. Effect of brazing time on microstructure of the joints, as well as the dissolution behaviors of Cu interlayer was analyzed. The results show that the product of reaction zone near 1Cr18Ni9Ti is composed of Fe2Al5, FeAl3 intermetallic compound (IMC), and Cu-Al IMC; the near by area is composed of Al-Cu eutectic structure with Al (Cu) solid solution. With increasing the brazing time, the thickness of IMC layer at the interface increases, while the width of Al-Cu eutectic structure with Al(Cu) solution decreases. Calculation shows the dissolution rate of Cu interlayer is very fast. The complete dissolution time is about 0.47 s for Cu interlayer with 10 μm in thickness used in this study.