Intermetallic Phase Formation in Explosively Welded Al/Cu Bimetals

Diffusion couples of aluminum and copper were fabricated by explosive welding process. The interface evolution caused by annealing at different temperatures and time durations was investigated by means of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction. Annealing in the temperature range of 573 K to 773 K (300 A degrees C to 500 A degrees C) up to 408 hours showed that four types of intermetallic layers have been formed at the interface, namely Al2Cu, AlCu, Al3Cu4, and Al4Cu9. Moreover, it was observed that iron trace in aluminum caused the formation of Fe-bearing intermetallics in Al, which is near the interface of the Al-Cu intermetallic layers. Finally, the activation energies for the growth of Al2Cu, AlCu + Al3Cu4, Al4Cu9, and the total intermetallic layer were calculated to be about 83.3, 112.8, 121.6, and 109.4 kJ/mol, respectively. Considering common welding methods (i.e., explosive welding, cold rolling, and friction welding), although there is a great difference in welding mechanism, it is found that the total activation energy is approximately the same.