High strength bonding of titanium to stainless steel using an Ag interlayer

Strong bonding between titanium (Ti) and stainless steel (STS) was achieved by employing a commercially available Ag-28Cu (wt.%) filler, and more importantly with a help of an Ag interlayer. A mass transport of the Ti elements from the substrate into the molten filler was completely prevented through the use of the Ag interlayer, so the resultant brazed joint was free from any brittle Ti-based intermetallic compounds. Notably, this Ti-STS dissimilar joint displayed a remarkable improvement in its bonding strength, demonstrating the potential application of an Ag interlayer for joining Ti and its alloys to various structural steels. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.