Electrically assisted pressure joining of titanium alloys

Electrically assisted pressure joining (EAPJ) of a Grade 1 titanium (Ti) alloy is experimentally investigated. In EAPJ, an electric current is directly applied to the specimen during plastic compression. Microstructural analysis shows that solid-state joints are successfully fabricated in the selected Ti alloy without melting. Shear tensile tests shows that the strength and fracture modes of the joint are strongly affected by a combination of the amount of plastic deformation (corresponding to a thickness reduction) and the electric current intensity. An optimal thickness reduction, corresponding to the maximum fracture load, exists for each value of current intensity, and decreases as current intensity increases. A higher fracture load can be obtained by adjusting the combination of the current intensity and the thickness reduction parameters.