Bonding of Mg and Al with Mg-Al eutectic alloy and its application in aluminum coating on magnesium

Abstract Magnesium and aluminum were bonded successfully by using Mg–Al eutectic alloy as the solder under different pressures at 450 °C in atmosphere. The microstructures of the Mg/Al joints were characterized by SEM, the composition analyzed by EDS, and their bond strengths measured by the bend test. The results show that the bond strength of these Mg/Al joints is improved with increasing of holding pressure, while the holding time has no much effect on it. To demonstrate the potential application of the Mg–Al eutectic alloy solder, magnesium plate was coated with aluminum foil by this process and its corrosion resistance was evaluated by electrochemical test. It shows that the corrosion resistance of the magnesium plate with aluminum coating was remarkably improved, which exhibits a similar corrosion behavior to that of aluminum.