MOSCOW, October 31. Two unparalleled technologies for creating defect-free composites from steel and aluminum were proposed by Volga State Technical University scientists. According to them, the strength of the materials has increased almost three times compared to traditional methods. The results were published in the journal Composite Interfaces.
Explosive welding is the most effective and often the only way to join many metals, experts said. This technology involves the collision of metal plates, one of which accelerates to several hundred meters per second due to the detonation of a special charge.
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As scientists explained, the most common defect that occurs during explosion welding is the formation of melted areas consisting of a mixture of two metals, so-called intermetallic compounds. They significantly reduce the mechanical strength and electrical conductivity of the composite.
Specialists from the Volgograd State Technical University (Volgograd State Technical University) have developed two methods for improving the quality of heat-resistant composites of steel and aluminum produced by explosion welding.
According to them, both technologies help avoid the formation of intermetallic foci, the absence of which is critical for the aerospace industry and a number of others responsible use of these materials.
“For the first time in the world, we have created a fundamentally new technology of explosion welding with simultaneous ultrasonic exposure, which allows us to create defect-free metal composites. Another way we proposed is the integration of a special chromium barrier between steel and aluminum plates, which also eliminates defects and increases the durability of the material,” said Associate Professor of the Department of Equipment and Welding Technology of Volga State Technical University Evgeniy Kuzmin.
According to the authors, the peel strength of layers in a composite with a barrier layer increases almost three times, and the specific transient electrical resistance decreases by more than half. Indicators close to this are achieved through ultrasonic treatment without adding a chromium barrier.
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«There are no similar approaches to this problem in the world scientific literature. In the course of the work, we carried out a comprehensive analysis of shear plastic deformation in thin layers of composites made of metals with sharply different properties and studied the effect on the properties of the combined action of several highly concentrated energy sources «, noted Kuzmin.
The fundamental data obtained, as the scientists explained, make it possible to vary processing modes to create a whole range of composites with unique properties, and also make it possible to more economically use expensive and scarce metals in the production of alloys.
Both proposed technologies will effectively replace imported ones composites on domestic materials that are superior in quality, scientists emphasized.
In the future, the research team intends to develop similar solutions for copper-aluminum and titanium-steel composites, which are in demand in various sectors of Russian industry. The research was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation No. 22-79-00217.
Volgograd State Technical University is a participant in the state support program for universities of the Russian Federation «Priority-2030» of the national project «Science and Universities».