Preparation and characterisation of tin bronze/steel composites by solid–liquid bonding with vibration

Abstract

In the present study, mechanical vibration was applied in the preparation of the tin bronze/steel bimetal composite by the solid–liquid bonding, and the effects on the microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. The results show that mechanical vibration refines the microstructure of tin bronze and accelerates the interdiffusion between the two components, resulting in the improvement of the bonding strength and Brinell hardness. With the vibration frequency of 30 Hz, the composite strength and hardness are significantly improved. The finite element method further shows that the exciting force and homogeneous temperature field caused by the vibration are the main reasons for the microstructure optimisation. HIGHLIGHTS The tin bronze/1010 steel bimetallic layered composites with homogeneous microstructure are prepared by solid–liquid bonding under the mechanical vibration field. The interface thickness can be increased by applying mechanical vibration to the solid–liquid bonding process of the bimetals. Combined with the results of finite element simulation, the effect mechanism of the mechanical vibration in the preparation process was discussed. With the application of mechanical vibration, the hardness and interfacial bonding strength of the bimetals are obviously improved, and there is an optimal vibration parameter.