Gaseous shielding gas additives as flux substitute for TIG arc brazing

Abstract

Brazing is one of the key technologies in the field of joining of metal components. To improve the wetting of brazing material and work-piece surface, it is often required to fall back on the use of flux. The application of these substances requires accuracy and is often connected with considerable expenditure and it is, just as the removal of flux residues, often an additional working step which has to be carried out manually. Within the framework of a DFG research project it has been investigated to which degree gaseous substances as addition to the shielding gas may replace conventional flux in TIG arc brazing. To this end, investigations have been carried out using different combinations of base and filler materials. Mainly monosilane as a gaseous flux substitute has been added in low concentrations to the shielding gas volume flow. The resulting brazed joints have been quantified with regard to their geometry, their fusion conditions and their chemical compositions. These qualities were then correlated and evaluated with the provided quantity of monosilane in order to identify dependencies.