Bonding of compound casted Ti/Al bimetal by heat treatment

The formation mechanism of the bonding between compound cast Al/Ti bimetal during a heat treatment regime was investigated. Commercially pure Al was cast and melt on a Ti bar in a steel tube, followed by heat treatment on the compound cast Ti/Al bimetal for different periods of time once the Al melt was solidified. No bonding was observed between the two metals after the initial casting, which can be attributed to the presence of oxide films on the liquid Al and solid Ti alloys and the trapped atmosphere between them. The effect of these layers in preventing the formation of bonding was eliminated after heat treating the cast part at ~973 K (~700°C) for at least 15 min, and the metals started to bond with each other. A detailed description of this bonding mechanism is presented in this paper.