Wettability, interfacial phenomena and shear strength for Al/ZrO2 joining system driven by direct current

•Applying DC has a noticeable effect on the wetting of ZrO2 by Al.•DC current induce the formation of ZrAl3 layer between Al and ZrO2.•Thickness of ZrAl3 layer determines the shear stress of Al/ZrO2 joining.

We realized the wetting for molten Al on the 3 mol.% Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (ZrO2) with applying a direct current (DC). The interfacial microstructures and shear stress were evaluated after wetting to reveal their native relationship with DC application. The results showed that not only the wettability of Al/ZrO2 system but also the shear stress can be optimized by controlling the DC intensity and applying time, which strongly depends on the formation of ZrAl3 at the interface of Al/ZrO2 system. When the current intensity is 20 mA and applying time is 10 min, the shear stress reaches the maximum in our case.