STRUCTURAL JOINING METHODS FOR DISSIMILAR METAL AIR FRAMES

SPARTA, INC. PROPOSES A PROGRAM TO DEVELOP AN APPLICATION OF AN INNOVATIVE, LOW TEMPERATURE, SOLID-STATE BONDING TECHNIQUE TO PRODUCE DEFECT FREE JOINTS WITH A MINIMUM AMOUT OF GROSS DEFORMATION, THERMAL DISTORTION, RESIDUAL STRESSES OR LOSS OF STRENGTH IN THE MATERIALS TO BE JOINED. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I WORK IS TO APPLY THIS PROCESS TO THE FABRICATION OF JOINS BETWEEN DISSIMILAR METALS SUCH AS TITANIUM AND SUPERALLOY MATERIALS. THE RESULTS WILL BE COMPARED TO ALL BRAZING AND WELDING RESULTS BETWEEN THESE ADHERENDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE. THE STUDY APPROACH IS AS FOLLOWS: (1) IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIFIC JOINT CONFIGURATIONS AND MATERIALS, BASED ON DESIGN REQUIREMENTS; (2) SELECTION OF DIFFUSION BONDING AIDS BASED ON ADHEREND MATERIALS; (3) DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIFFUSTION BONDING PROCESS AND INITIAL JOINT DEFECT STUDIES; (4) TESTING AND EVALUATION OF JOINTS AND ASSESSMENT OF PROCESS SCALE-UP POTENTIAL AND; (5) DOCUMENTATION OF RESULTS.