Spot brazing of aluminum to copper with a cover plate

Abstract

It is difficult to join dissimilar metals when an intermetallic compound is formed at the joining interface. Spot brazing can be accomplished in a short time by resistance heating. Therefore, it is said that the formation of a intermetallic compound can be prevented. In this study, aluminum and copper were joined by spot brazing with a cover plate. The cover plate was used to supply heat to base metals and prevent heat dissipation from the base metals. The ability to braze Al and Cu was investigated by observation and analysis. Pure aluminum (A1050) plate and oxygen-free copper (C1020) plate were used as base metals. Cu-Ni-Sn-P brazing filler was used as the brazing filler metal. SPCC was employed as cover plate. Brazing was done with a micro spot welder under an argon gas atmosphere. Brazing ability was estimated by tensile shear strength and cross sectional microstructure observation. Al and Cu can be joined by spot brazing with Cu-Ni-Sn-P brazing filler and cover plate.