Microjoining of Ti–Ni alloy and stainless steel using resistance brazing method aided by numerical simulation

Abstract

A novel resistance brazing method aided by numerical simulation, in which the brazing is completed through several preliminary heatings and a subsequent final heating aided by the numerical simulation is presented. The preliminary heating is performed with a relatively low electric energy input so that the uniformity of the surface contact condition between two parts can be improved due to local melting and subsequent solidification and so that the electric current data can be acquired for preparing analytical conditions necessary to the numerical simulation. The final heating is performed with an energizing condition determined by the numerical simulation in advance. To prove the efficacy of the resistance brazing method aided by the numerical simulation, Ti–Ni alloy and type 304 stainless steel wires with diameters of 96 μm both were butt-joint brazed using Au–Cu brazing filler metal supplied with the individual metal plating. The brazed joints had tensile strengths ranging from 74 to 448 MPa in accordance with the energizing conditions.