EFFECTS OF WETTING TIME ON PROPERTIES OF STEEL-ALUMINIUM BRAZED JOINT

The brazing of 1080 steel to 6063 aluminium alloy was conducted under various wetting time to investigate the properties of the joint. Generally, joining of steel to aluminium using high temperature joining method can cause formations of hard and brittle intermetallic compounds that reduce the strength of joint. Brazing wetting time were varied to observe the effect of this parameter to the shear strength and microstructure at the interface of brazed joint. Shear testing showed that the strength of joint with brazing time of 5 to 15 minutes have exceeded the strength of the 6063 aluminium alloy. Microstructure analysis revealed that brazing with 15 minutes wetting time has better joining profile at interface between the steel and aluminium alloy than the other wetting durations. Optimization of the brazing wetting time improved the strength of brazed joint by minimizing the formation of brittle layer within the join interface.