Diffusion welding

Introduction
Diffusion bonding or welding is a solid-state welding process wherein
coalescence of the facing surfaces is produced by the application of
pressure and elevated temperatures to carefully cleaned and mated metal
surfaces so that they actually grow together by atomic diffusion.

The process does not involve macroscopic

deformation, or relative motion of the workpieces. Work pieces
Force

The process can be used to join either similar

or dissimilar metals with the optional use A
of a solid filler metal between the
B
facing surfaces.

Schematic representation of
diffusion welding using
electrical resistance for heating
 Welding types
Gas pressure bonding:
The facing surfaces are pressed together and heating done to 815 degrees Celsius.
During heating, an inert gas pressure is built up over all the surfaces of the parts
to be welded.
Non ferrous metals

Vacuum fusion bonding:

The facing surfaces are pressed together mechanically or hydraulically using a
hydraulic press. Process carried out in vacuum chamber. Heating at about 815
degrees Celsius.
Pressure much higher than previous process, so can be used for steel and its
alloys.

Eutectic fusion bonding:

Low temp diffusion welding process
A thin plate of filler material between the pieces to be joined.
As the pieces are heated to a particular temperature, the filler material diffuses
and forms a eutectic compound with the parent metals.
 Diffusion Welding
Working Principles
1st stage deformation
Asperities come
1st stage into contact
and interfacial boundary
formation
o Deformation forming
interfacial boundary.
2nd stage
o Grain boundary
migration and pore 2nd stage grain 3rd stage volume
elimination. boundary migration
and pore elimination
diffusion pore
elimination
3rd stage
o Volume diffusion and
pore elimination.
Principle
Surface to be diffusion welded will have some surface roughness, ie; a number of
peaks and valleys, and also oxidized layers, grease dirt, adsorbed gas ,moisture
,etc. on its ,surface.

The first stage is to ensure intimate metal to metal contact for the 2 pieces to be
diffusion welded.

For this, we need to apply pressure to deform the substrate roughness and also
disperse the oxide layers and contaminants.

Diffusion and grain growth to complete the weld so that there is complete metallic
bonding across the area of contact.

Moderate heating temperatures below 1100 degrees Celsius to increase the

diffusion rate.
Process

The Diffusion-welding process consists in

bringing together the smoothed surfaces to
be diffusion welded after having eliminated
all contaminants and surface oxides.

Then pressure is gradually applied and

temperature is elevated to permit
diffusion at the atomic level.

Then diffusion causes the interface

to disappear slowly while the remaining
voids between the original surfaces shrink
or are absorbed within the grains.

Finally the interface cannot be seen any

more (in a metallographic section) and
residual voids, if any, result no larger or
frequent than those of the base metals
 Equipment and tools
Main requirement is that temperature and pressure must be applied and maintained
in a controlled environment. Usually, autoclaves and presses are the main equipment
used.
High pressure isostatic equipment

Mainly used for gas pressure bonding

Hot pressing operation performed in a high pressure autoclave(high pressure by

pumping an inert gas into the chamber)

When the gas used is compressed air, these autoclaves are called hot air ovens.

Cold wall autoclave in which internal cooling is provided to maintain a low wall
temperature.

High temperatures are achieved by placing the heater inside the autoclave and
measured using thermocouples. Usually resistance wound furnaces are used, with
alumina and silica insulation to reduce heat losses to the wall.

The main tooling required is the gas tight envelope in which the specimen is
contained.

The main advantage is easy handling of complex geometry but since it is a pressure
vessel, the size is limited and high capital costs.
Presses
These refer to mechanical or hydraulic presses, with sufficient load and size capacity,
an available means for heating, and a mechanism to maintain sufficient pressure for a
given period of time.

Some units provide a vacuum which surrounds the part, or usage of radiant
heating, induction heating and self-resistance heating. Hence, easy operation and
excellent parametric control. But , this is tougher when it comes to larger
components. To overcome this, we eliminate the protective chamber and operate
large forging presses. Heated platens are used to apply both temperature and
pressure to the parts to be diffusion welded

Tooling requirement varies with application. If no lateral restraint is provided,

upsetting may occur. So, lower pressures need to be used. To overcome this,
elimination of the protective chamber and operating in large forging presses.
Heated platens are used to apply both temperature and pressure to the parts to be
diffusion welded

The main advantage :Operation is simple, and no requirement for closed

containment means large structures can be handled. A major limitation is
geometry since only uniaxial pressure can be handled and low production rates
 Welding Parameters
1. Bonding Pressure:

Uniform pressure assures consistency of bond formation, ie, it ensures

tight contact between the edges of the pieces.

The initial deformation phase of bond formation depends on the intensity

of pressure applied. It must be sufficient so as to aid deformation of
surface asperities and to fill all the voids at the interface by material flow.

The compressive load helps in dispersing surface oxide films. This leaves
a clean surface and aids diffusion and coalescence at the interface.

For a given time-temperature value, increased pressure gives better

quality joints. However, the cost will also increase.

However, the applied pressure must not be so high as to cause

macroscopic deformation.
2. Bonding Temperature:

Plastic deformation, creep and the diffusion mechanisms are all

temperature dependant since higher temperature increases the surface
energy and hence the mobility of the atoms.

Temperature determines: (a)the extent of contact area which dictates the

size of the voids to be eliminated during the 2nd stage of diffusion and
(b)the rate of diffusion which governs void elimination during the 3rd
stage.

Usually, elevated temperatures will shorten diffusion welding cycle and

reduce cost since less pressure needs to be applied.

Diffusion welding temperatures usually ranges from 0.55 to 0.8Tm(the

melting point of the base metal).
3. Dwell Time:

Dwell time is usually dependant on the temperature. An increase in

temperature shortens the time required to complete the diffusion
welding and vice versa.

Dwell time at a specific bonding temperature and pressure must, in

most cases, be kept minimum from physical and economical
considerations.

It should be sufficient for an intimate contact to be formed by

elimination of the asperities at the interface through the process of
diffusion. However, excessive diffusion time may lead to the formation
of Kirkendall voids in the weld zone or even form brittle intermetallic
compounds.
 Materials and Joints
Many similar and dissimilar metals have been joined by diffusion
welding, but most applications of this process have been with:
1. Titanium alloys
2. Zirconium alloys
3. Nickel base alloys.

Good joint properties can be attained readily in titanium alloys with

relatively low pressures and temperatures . This is due to the low creep
strength of titanium alloys and the ability of titanium to dissolve its oxide
at welding temperature.

Nickel base superalloys are most difficult to diffusion weld because of

their high creep strength, and requires high interface pressure to bring
about metal to metal contact.
 A properly diffusion welded joint is one which will tolerate significant
deformation and fracture does not occur at the joint interface,ie, quality
of a diffusion welded joint does not depend on the tensile strength
alone. For eg: an incompletely welded joint may have greater than 95%
of the base metal strength but will fracture in a brittle manner at the
interface.

The strength of the joint also depends on the common surface area to be
bonded. This depends on :

1. Surface preparation: machining to ensure that the interfaces can be

pressed to proper contact without excessive deformation, and chemical
cleaning of oxides, films, etc, from the interface

2. Position of the joint: lap joints and butt joints will have inherently
higher strength than corner joints and T-joints, because of the larger
area in contact.
 Advantages

Welds having similar physical, chemical and mechanical properties can be

produced

This solid state process avoids pitfalls of fusion welding, ie, absence of the heat
affected zone ensures the quality of the weld.

Dissimilar materials welds are possible.

Heat treating operations can be incorporated during the bonding cycle.

Properties and microstructures remain similar to those of base metals

Continuous leak tight welds can be formed.

Numerous welds can be made simultaneously.

Weldability is largely independent of material thickness

Highly automated process does not need skillful workforce

 Disadvantages

Tough to remove oxide layer and contaminants present on all metals exposed to
the industrial environment.

Opposing surfaces must be mated in size to within a few angstroms of each

other in order to achieve a satisfactory metal bond.

With dissimilar materials, there are difficulties due to time/ temperature/

pressure requirements.

Not suitable for mass production

Long time to completion

Not suited to high production rates

Difference in thermal expansion of members may need special attention

Limited nondestructive inspection methods available

 Applications
Fabrication of reactor components in atomic energy industries.eg: Fabrication of
fuel elements for the first commercial pressurized water reactor at Shippingport,
Pennyslvania.

Used in the aerospace, missile and rocketry industries, mainly for the fabrication
of rocket engines, turbine components, structural members,etc

Fabrication of composite materials (reinforcement like carbon, boron, alumina in

matrices like titanium and nickel)

A very important application of diffusion bonding is the fabrication of the

honeycomb sandwich structure which has been widely utilised for the
construction of chassis of F1 cars, and aircraft components because these are
lightweight compared to metallics, have high stiffness and are cost effective
compared to other composites.
Honeycomb structure
fabrication using
diffusion bonding
The helicopter rotor hub was built up from titanium alloy sheets and
press diffusion bonded to form a solid mass. The resulting rotor hub
possesses fine grain size and excellent properties even in the very center
of the part
 Submitted by

Group 10 S5M2

Roll no Name
29 Ramesh P V

30 Ranees T P

31 Raveen R

33 Revanth Kishore Kumar

34 Rohit G Kartha