Influence of copper on amorphous nickel based brazing alloy

Abstract

Brazing of stainless steel using nickel based alloys has sometimes been avoided, in spite of its various advantages, because it is a somewhat unreliable process in terms of the mechanical characteristics and corrosion resistance of the brazed joints. Addition of copper to amorphous Ni–Cr–B–Si brazing alloys has been shown to be a promising method of improving the performance of joints. Because copper can form a solid solution with nickel at any concentration, addition of copper has a great effect on the microstructures of the nickel based filler metal and braze seam, by improving the volume ratio of nickel based solid solution to the embrittled intermetallic compounds. As a result, a significant increase in the critical brazing clearance (CBC) was obtained in the present work. Furthermore, copper might increase the electrode potential of nickel based solid solution, so that addition of copper could improve the corrosion resistance of the brazed joints. The results show that an appropriate copper addition to the present Ni–Cr–B–Si group amorphous brazing foil provides an effective method of overcoming the weaknesses of joints brazed using conventional nickel based filler metals, such as low value of CBC and low corrosion resistance.