An investigation of electrical-assisted solid-state welding/bonding process for thin metallic sheets: Experiments and modeling

Abstract

Efficient joining technique of thin metal sheets is required in the mass production of fuel cell bipolar plates, micro-reactor carriers and so on. Solid-state bonding (pressure welding) process is found to be a promising solution, because the process is efficient and large area welds can be achieved in one welding/bonding procedure. However, successful bonding cannot be achieved by conventional pressure welding process for some materials (e.g. stainless steel). In order to realize successful bonding and improve the bond performance, an electrical-assisted solid-state welding process was proposed in the present study. Experimental setup was developed to investigate the joining process of stainless steel and brass sheets. The effects of electric current as well as process conditions (e.g. welding pressure, sheet thickness and temperature) on the bond strength were studied experimentally. The results indicate that the maximum bond strength of stainless steel improves from 24.4 to 33.2 MPa with the increase of current density from 6.7 to 20 A/mm2. Furthermore, an analytical model to predict the shear load force was established. In the model, different deforming behaviors of the contaminant layer and the virgin metal were discussed. Good agreement between the analytical and the experimental results was observed. Based on the model, the improvement of the weld strength in the electrical-assisted solid-state welding process was characterized theoretically, which also proves the feasibility of the process.

Small‐scale resistance seam welding of stainless steel bipolar plates of PEM fuel cells

“…Koc and Mahabunphachai, 19 suggested a hybrid production process including an internal pressure-assisted molding method combined with a mechanical bonding technique in one die and a single step for the production of bipolar plates. Peng et al 20 introduced electrical-assisted solid-state welding for welding of stainless-steel bipolar plate.…”

Mechanical and microstructure property evaluation of diffusion bonding of 5083, 6061 and 7075 aluminium to AZ31 magnesium using Cu interlayer

“…18 Moreover, the interface layer is widely applied in metal/ ceramic bonding, 19 as it can be a good solution to a non-stable interface in metal/ceramic joining. 20 Although diffusion bonding is an old method that has introduced novel approaches 21,22 or modeling 23 in this field, the old process still needs to be studied more experimentally. Therefore, in this research, it is tried to study the diffusion bonding of 5083, 6061 and 7075 aluminium alloys to magnesium (AZ31B) using pure copper interface layer.…”

Electrically Assisted Solid-State Joining of CrMnFeCoNi High-Entropy Alloy

“…[20][21][22][23][24] The results of successful solid-state joining by EAPJ have been reported for various conventional alloys, such as 316 stainless steel, Cu-Zn alloy, and Ti alloy. [25,26] In the present work, we investigate the feasibility of EAPJ of CrMnFeCoNi HEA to produce a sound solid-state joint at a temperature substantially lower than its melting point and the effect of an applied electric current pattern on the microstructural change in joining zones (JZs).…”