Progress in Joining of Advanced Materials

Progress in joining of advanced materials
Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd
G. C;am and M. K09ak
Advanced materials generally require novel

joining techniques. Developments in new
materials research should be conducted hand in
hand with work on weldability and joining capacity
aspects. Sound joint quality for any new material
has always been considered a milestone in a
research and development scheme for a new
material, particularly in terms of widespread
applications. Better understanding of the
microstructure-mechanical
properties
relationships of the bonded or welded joints will
feed back to the materials development activities
both in conventional and new materials areas. The
two joining processes diffusion bonding and laser
welding are considered in this literature review,
since these processes are capable of joining a wide
range of materials of interest in the aerospace
industry, as well as in many other industrial
applications, and offer remarkable advantages
over conventional fusion welding processes. Of
particular interest is the ability to join the more
difficult aerospace alloys with minimal component
distortion and high reproducibility of joint quality.
The purpose of the review is to outline progress
made in this area and to make suggestions for
future work. Coverage includes solid state joining,
fusion joining, joining of intermetallics, joining of
metal matrix composites, and joining of other
advanced materials.
IMR/320
1998 The Institute of Materials and ASM International.
The authors are at the GKSS Research Center, Institute of
Materials Research, D-21502 Geesthacht, Germany.
Introduction
The joining of any material with another has always
been a necessity in engineering applications. Welding
or bonding of two materials almost always causes
changes or deterioration of the microstructural and
mechanical properties of the original materials in the
joining region. Joining of two different materials
(dissimilar joints) leads to a much more complicated
situation where each material's own properties should
be taken into account during the joining process and
later during joint quality determination.
New or advanced materials generally require novel
joining techniques. Therefore, developments in new
structural materials research should be conducted in
parallel with research into weldability and joining
capacity aspects. Sound joint quality of any new
material has always been considered a milestone in
a research and development scheme, particularly in
terms of widespread applications.
Various aspects of the similar and dissimilar joints
of advanced materials made by laser welding, diffusion
bonding, high vacuum-high temperature brazing,
electron beam welding, or other conventional materials joining technologies still require a vast amount
of research and development supported by the knowl-
edge gained over many years of work on conventional

materials. It is obvious that a better understanding
of the microstructure-mechanical properties relationships of bonded or welded joints will feed back to the
materials development and optimisation activities
both in conventional and new materials areas.
The topic of weldability and extensive characterisation (microstructural and fracture mechanics) of the
welded/bonded joints of some advanced materials is
a promising applied research and development area
which may attract considerable industrial interest if
the industrial research projects are organised in a
product oriented fashion and conducted with
sufficient expertise.
Weldability aspects of some advanced materials
still require further research and development. Such
materials include:
(i) titanium aluminide intermetallics
(ii) Ni3 Al intermetallic alloys
(iii) Fe3AI intermetallic alloys
(iv) oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys
(v) metal matrix composites (MMCs)
(vi) nickel based superalloys
(vii) AI-Li alloys.
Most of these alloys are mainly used in aerospace
industry. Although the use of welding in the aerospace
industry is rather limited compared with other major
industries, it has gradually increased over the last
20 years as a result of the development of welding
methods (e.g.laser beam welding, friction stir welding,
etc.) which have a less detrimental effect on local
material properties and shape (minimum distortion)
than more conventional arc welding.
The two joining processes diffusion bonding and
laser beam welding are considered in this literature
review since these processes are capable of joining a
wide range of materials of interest in the aerospace
industry, as well as in many other industrial applications, and offer remarkable advantages over conventional fusion welding processes. Of particular
interest is the ability to join the more difficult aerospace alloys with minimal component distortion and
high reproducibility of joint quality.
Solid state joining processes

Among the modern joining techniques used in engineering, solid state processes probably have the longest
history and a wide spectrum of processes are now
classified under the generic term 'solid state'. Solid
state joining processes operate without melting of the
base metal, usually by the application of high pressure.
Bonding is achieved by the introduction of mechanical, electrical, or thermal energy and/or diffusion.
These processes differ in the times, pressures, and
temperatures used and the methods of applying heat.
At one extreme, cold pressure welding requires
extensive deformation but no significant heating and
is, therefore, restricted to ductile materials. Other
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
9am and Kor;ak
Joining of advanced materials
processes include inertia (or friction) welding and

explosive welding, leading to the other extreme of
diffusion bonding.
Friction welding is a rather specialised process for
joining a cylindrical part to a stationary section. The
cylindrical unit is spun at high speed. Light contact
between the parts creates heat at the interface and
cleans the surfaces to be joined. Axial pressure is
applied, causing the parts to rotate against each other
forming the joint. The cleanliness and solid state
nature of the bond make the process attractive for
joining of many materials.
Explosive bonding is achieved between two metallic
surfaces by a directed shock wave produced by detonation of an explosive charge. While the process is
often used for cladding of steel plate by conventional
alloys, the process has more recently been applied to
joining complex and dissimilar materials. Perhaps the
latest application is the joining of tubes to tubesheets
in heat exchangers.
Diffusion bonding takes place when two mating
surfaces are subjected to pressure at elevated temperature for an extended period. Diffusion takes place
across the interface and a bond is formed. An interlayer of some rapidly diffusing element is sometimes
used to decrease bonding time. The diffusion bonding
process is characterised by its ability to join materials
with minimal deformation and, in like materials, the
absence of any identifiable bond line, which is in
contrast to the results of cold pressure welding.
Diffusion bonding
It is possible to join a wide range of materials in both

like and dissimilar combinations by diffusion bonding.
In addition, solid state diffusion bonding avoids in
particular undesirable structural transformations,
since the temperatures involved in the process are
rather low. These prime advantages have led to
extensive use of this method in a wide range of
industries extending from the electronics and nuclear
fields to manufacture of various engineering and
aerospace components.
Another driving force extending the use of diffusion
bonding is the increasing development of novel and
advanced materials, such as MMCs, intermetallics,
and ceramics, where fusion processes are not generally
applicable or are of limited use. Another area where
diffusion bonding is finding application is the bonding
of ceramics to metals. Although reports of some
diffusion bonding of dissimilar material combinations
have appeared in the literature, more demanding
applications are expected particularly in engine parts,
ranging from automotive to industrial and aeroengine
components. In these applications, joints which can
withstand much more severe operating conditions
than previously considered will be required.
The widest application area of diffusion bonding
now is in the aerospace industry. It is often used in
combination with superplastic forming (SPF) for the
fabrication of aircraft and aerospace components.!
The technique is based on the formation of a metallurgical bond between mating surfaces by diffusion
controlled mechanisms, with minimal macroscopic
deformation.
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
(a)
(b)~
~
(C)~
(d)~
(e)~
a initial point contact and oxide contaminant layer; b large voids

with thinner oxide layer after some point yielding and creep; c some
voids remaining with very thin oxide layer after final yielding and
creep; d oxide layer eliminated after continued vacancy diffusion
leaving few small voids; e completed bonding
Mechanism of diffusion bonding2
Diffusion bonding is a process in which premachined components are held under lo'ad at an elevated
temperature while in a protective atmosphere. Loads
which would not cause macro deformation of the
parent material(s) and temperatures of 05-0'8 Tm
(where Tm is the melting point in kelvin) are employed.
Holding times at elevated temperature can exceed
60 min, but this depends on the material types being
bonded, the joint properties required, and the remaining bonding parameters.2 Although the majority of
bonding operations are performed under vacuum or
in an inert gas atmosphere, certain bonds have also
been produced in air.3
To form a bond it is necessary for the two metal
surfaces to come into atomic contact and hence
micro asperities and surface contaminants must be
removed before bonding. Furthermore, the bond
interface has to be protected from oxidation whether
under vacuum or in inert gas. It is generally believed
that solid state bonding is completed through two
stages:4
(i) plastic flow disrupts the oxide film to expose
the clean metallic surface and produce intimate contact
(ii) bonding is established by atomic interdiffusion
and recrystallisation and/or grain growth
across the bond interface.
The mechanism of diffusion bonding is shown
schematically in Fig. 1. Diffusion bonding can be
categorised into three main groups:
(i) solid state diffusion bonding
(ii) liquid state diffusion bonding or diffusion
brazing
(iii) superplastic
forming-diffusion
bonding
(SPF-DB).
This depends on the type of pressurisation, use of
interlayers, and formation or not of a liquid phase.
Each of these types, discussed below, finds specific
9am and Kor;ak
applications for a range of materials and geometries

needing to be joined.
Liquid state diffusion bonding or diffusion brazing
Also known as transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding,

liquid state diffusion bonding or diffusion brazing is
applicable only to dissimilar material combinations
or to like materials where a dissimilar metal insert is
used. Solid state diffusion processes lead to a change
of composition at the bond interface and the bonding
temperature is selected such that the newly formed
phase at the bond interface melts at this temperature.
This thin layer of liquid spreads along the interface to form a joint at a temperature lower than
the melting point of either of the parent metals. A
reduction in bonding temperature leads to solidification of the melt and this phase can subsequently
be diffused away into the parent metals by holding
at the bonding temperature. The technique has been
used particularly for the bonding of aluminium alloys2
where eutectics can be formed with copper, silver, or
zinc to aid the breakup of the stable aluminium
surface oxide.
Superplastic forming-diffusion
bonding
The SPF-DB technique was specifically developed

within the aerospace industries and its industrial
importance is such that it is now considered as a
different diffusion bonding process. The process is
used commercially for titanium and its alloys, these
materials being ones that exhibit superplastic properties at elevated temperatures within defined strain
rate conditions. These temperature and pressure conditions coincide with the conditions required for
bonding and therefore the two processes have been
combined into one manufacturing operation.
The aircraft industry benefits from the ease of
diffusion bonding of titanium, a material that absorbs
its own oxide film at elevated temperatures. One
result of this, however, is the need to introduce a
stop off material (usually yttria based) to prevent
(b)
(a)
~--------.y::J
~~---------v.-l
= ==>~
==>==
stopoff~
Solid state diffusion bonding
Solid state bonding is mainly carried out under

vacuum or in other protective atmospheres, such as
argon, with heat being applied by radiant, induction,
direct, or indirect resistance heating. Pressure can be
applied either uniaxially or isostatically. In the former,
a low pressure (usually 3-10 MPa) is used to avoid
macrodeformation of the parts, i.e. no more than a
few per cent. This type of process therefore requires
a good finish on the mating surfaces since the contribution to bonding by plastic yielding is restricted. In
addition, the surfaces should be as clean as is practically possible to minimise surface contamination.
In hipping, much higher pressures (100-200 MPa)
are used and thus surface finishes are not critical. A
further advantage of this process is that the uniform
gas pressurisation permits the bonding of complex
geometries in contrast to the generally simple butt
joints possible with uniaxial pressurisation.
Where difficult materials need to be joined in the
solid state (and in particular for metal to ceramic
joints), it is possible to introduce single or multiple
interlayers of other materials to assist in the bonding
process and to modify post-bond stress distributions.
=:::0
stopoff
[LCU] [\~!J
a for integrally stiffened structure; b for sandwich structure
Principle of SPF-DB technique2,5
bonding in those areas where it is not required, as

shown schematically in Fig. 2.
Considerable attention is being directed towards
the diffusion bonding of superplastic aluminium
alloys, as SPF-DB has demonstrated substantial cost
and weight savings in fabricating aircraft structures.
The SPF-DB process has recently become an emerging technology in aerospace industries for production
of complex net shape parts made of high strength
aluminium. Although aluminium SPF technology has
already been developed for implementation in production, limited success in solid state bonding of
aluminium, especially high strength aluminium alloy,
has been reported to date.
The major difficulty in solid state bonding of aluminium is the stable and tenacious surface oxide film
which can not be avoided under normal manufacturing conditions. Considerable effort has therefore been
directed towards methods of achieving intimate metallic contact between mating surfaces in the presence
of this film and hence the adaptation of the SPF-DB
technique for aluminium.
Fusion joining processes

In addition to the conventional heat sources used in
fusion welding processes, namely gas flame and arc
heat sources, electromagnetically accelerated particle
beams, such as electron, ion, and neutral beams, and
special type beams (i.e. laser and plasma beams) with
large outputs have been developed over the last
30 years and are now available as heat sources for
fusion welding. Power beam welding processes are
generally classified as those capable of delivering an energy density greater than""" 10 kW mm -2 to
the workpiece and which are thereby capable of deep
'keyhole' penetration. These processes comprise electron beam, plasma arc, and laser welding.
Electron beams, which are easy to generate and
offer relatively higher output, were the first high
energy density beams to be commercially applied.
Their most important disadvantage is the requirement
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
9am and Ko(}ak
laser beam
+
gaseous metal flow
~
-4----
Principles of laser beam
weld direction
welding7
of a vacuum working chamber, since the propagation

range in air is extremely short. However, it is possible
to weld much thicker plates using the electron beam
welding process.
The plasma arc technique is the only arc welding
process which is capable of achieving the energy
density required for 'keyhole' penetration. In this
technique, an arc is formed between a tungsten electrode and the workpiece, which is constricted and
intensified by a copper nozzle surrounding the electrode, giving a plasma arc of a columnar form. The
combination of high welding current and plasma gas
flowrates results in deep penetration of the workpiece.
The plasma arc technique is not only capable of high
penetration keyhole welding, it can also be used as a
low penetration weld surfacing technique.
Laser welding as an advanced industrial fabrication
process is about 20 years old, but the technique
already offers direct competition to electron beam
and the more conventional welding processes. Laser
beams possess a dual handicap of high investment
and low thermal efficiency, but they have the great
advantages of optical manipulation (i.e. ease of
working), low distortion, greater accuracy and automation, and avoid the need for a vacuum working
chamber in most cases. Some further details on the
laser welding process are given below.
laser beam welding process
Lasers are now attracting a great deal of interest as

heat sources as a result of their potential to give
extremely high energy density.6 Lasers may be classified according to their mode of operation as continuous wave (CW) or pulsed wave (PW). Early lasers
capable of melting and cutting materials were of the
solid state type with a pulsed output, whereas the
continuous lasers did not have sufficient power output
for processing the materials. However, the development of the high power CW CO2 gas lasers and the
PW N d-YAG lasers in the last two decades led to
the application of laser beams as a more general heat
source in areas such as cutting, welding, heat treating,
soldering, brazing, cladding, and hardfacing. Presently, lasers are applied to the welding of stators
and rotors in generators, important gears, hot rolled
silicon steel sheets, bimetallic saw blades, and tubetubesheets of stainless steel. The welding of 50 mm
diameter tube-tubesheets with a 3 kW CO2 continInternational
plasma
gas channel
molten metal
solidified
weld bead
Materials Reviews
1998
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No.1
uous laser can be completed in 8 s. Figure 3 is a

schematic diagram of a laser beam welding operation.
In laser welding, when the laser beam impinges on
the metal, it delivers its heat to the surface and further
penetration beneath the surface relies on thermal
conduction. The metal under the laser beam evaporates and a cavity or keyhole is formed through the
thickness of the workpiece. By moving this keyhole
along the joint between two pieces of metal, a weld
is made as shown in Fig. 4.
Laser welding using a high power CO2 or pulsed
Nd-YAG laser can easily weld the specimen under
atmospheric conditions. However, in the case of
atmospheric laser welding, the generation of high
density high temperature metallic vapour and its
interaction with the laser beam (so called laser plasma)
occurs and strongly affects the welded bead. This
laser plasma can be suppressed by using inert gas
(e.g. helium) as an assist gas. Another solution for the
problem of laser plasma is the use of a low vacuum
(a few thousand pascals).
Recognised characteristics of laser welding are deep
penetration, narrow bead width, and narrow heat
affected zone (HAZ) typical of high power density
welding. This configuration is achieved in a keyhole
welding mode in which the beam passes entirely
through the joint to produce a full penetration weld
(Fig. 4). Applications have generally used the downhand welding position. However, it is also possible
to carry out all position welding for complex
components.
Joining of intermetallics
Joining of titanium aluminides
During the past decade, an extensive effort has been

devoted to developing titanium aluminide (Ti3AI,
designated as (X2, and TiAI, designated as y) based
alloys. These alloys, which are still in the research
and development stage, possess very good high temperature properties, such as oxidation, high temperature fatigue, and creep resistances, as a result of their
high specific modulus, high recrystallisation temperatures, and low selfdiffusion. However, their room
temperature ductility is intolerably low. Although the
addition of f3 stabilisers seems to be the solution to
their brittleness, large amounts of f3 stabilisers give
rise to microstructures consisting mainly of f3
9am and Kot;ak
1600
1670C
1400
~
~
0.1
1200
l-o
Q)
0..
joint phase
8 1000
Q)
E-<
mm
Uz
(Tiy\l)
------
800
---
I uz+y
600
--'
Ti
665C
I
r
60
------
Al
40
Aluminium
1800
ultra high energy density beam
l
500
80
content,
AI
at.-%
Keyhole formation in laser beam welding

5
titanium. This means that these alloys therefore suffer

from the disadvantages associated with a full f3 structure, e.g. reduced creep strength.
Blackburn
and Smith8,9 have found that the
addition of 13 at.-%Nb
(or up to 4 at.-% V) to
cxz-Ti3AI and the addition of 05-15 at.-o/oV to y-TiAI
improved their ductility. This discovery has stimulated an extensive study of Ti-AI based intermetallics,
which has reached the point of evaluating their potential applications,
mainly in the aerospace industry. Two types of CXz- Ti3 Al based alloys with some
room temperature ductility, namely Ti-26AI-llNb
(at.-o/o) (the first generation
CXz
alloy, designated
Ti-26-ll)
and Ti-25AI-lONb-3V-lMo
(at.-%) (the
second generation CXz alloy, also known as super CXz
and designated Ti-25-l0-3-l),
are now available.
The joinability of Ti-AI based alloys is an important factor in determining their potential for wider
use, since their fabrication is limited as a direct result
of their low room temperature
ductility. There is,
therefore, increasing interest in fabrication of these
alloys using joining, e.g. fusion welding and solid state
bonding techniques.
Physical metallurgy of titanium aluminides
At present there are several ongoing projects on solid
state (diffusion bonding) and fusion welding (LB) of
y- TiAI alloys, as well as the alloy development work
at the GKSS Research Center. Therefore, the physical
metallurgy of titanium aluminides is discussed in
detail in this review. An excellent review of the
physical and welding metallurgy of titanium aluminides has been conducted by Threadgill.lO,l1
It is essential to comprehend the features of the
Ti-AI equilibrium phase diagram in order to interpret
the complex welding metallurgy of these alloys. It is
perhaps surprising that the Ti-AI phase diagram is
not fully known and, until very recently, even the
most important parts of the titanium rich end were
controversial. It now appears to be accepted that the
cx field extends to the y field (Fig. 5).lZ-ls Three
principal intermetallics are formed, namely CXz- Ti3 AI,
y- TiAI, and TiAI3, which has no Greek symbol. Other
intermetallic compounds may also exist, but their
structures and stabilities are uncertain. Examination
Modified Ti-AI phase diagram: after pfullmann
13
of the phase diagrams shows that solidification to IX,

f3, or y phases would be feasible, with only minor
changes in the Til Al ratio. McCullough et al.1Z,16
have provided strong evidence that stoichiometric
TiAI solidifies with cx as the primary phase.
The greatest progress has been made in the Ti-AI
alloys based on the CXz- Ti3AI intermetallic. This intermetallic exists as an ordered hcp (D019) structure at
ambient temperatures over a range of compositions,
although at elevated temperatures it exists as the bcc
phase. On cooling from elevated temperatures, it is
believed to transform to a disordered cx phase, with
long range order (cxz) being established at a slightly
lower temperature.1S
The structure of y-TiAI is ordered fcc (Llo) which,
like CXz- Ti3 AI, can exist over a reasonably wide range
of compositions.1s
Unlike CXz- Ti3 AI, it does not
undergo a phase change at elevated temperatures,
although it does lose its long range order. However,
the width of the y- TiAI field diminishes significantly
with increasing temperature.
It is believed that the TiAl3 phase exists only as a
line compound in the binary system. The structure of
TiAl3 is tetragonal (DOzz). Figure 5 illustrates the
uncertainty in the region of the binary phase diagram
between the TiAl3 and y- TiAI fields, although recent
work by Schuster and Ipser17 suggests that a number
of other compounds may exist in this region.
All titanium aluminides possess good high temperature strength and oxidation resistance. However,
their limited ductility at low temperatures precludes
their use in load bearing structures. Intense research
activity has been undertaken to improve the room
temperature ductility of these alloys, without compromising their high temperature performance, and some
of the more significant developments are discussed
below.
lt2- Ti3 Ai aiuminides.
As the binary Ti-AI phase
diagram in Fig. 5 shows, CXz- Ti3 Al intermetallic forms
over a range of aluminium contents from 22 to
36 at._%.12,18,19 The intermetallic
exhibits a hcp
ordered crystal structure (D019 superlattice). Studies
by Sastry and LipsittZO on a near stoichiometric
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
r;am and Kor;ak Joining of advanced materials
(X2- Ti3Al alloy indicated

that on cooling the high
temperature bee 13 phase transforms allotropically to
the hcp rJ.. phase and then orders extremely rapidly at
temperatures just below the 13 transus temperature
(1125-1150C). They suggested that the low ductility
of the ordered hcp structure (of the order of 1-2%
elongation) results from a high degree of slip planarity
and an absence of non-basal slip and twinning in the
ordered structure.
The low temperature ductility of the (X2- Ti3AI alloy
can be improved by adding 13 stabilisers, such as
niobium, molybdenum, or vanadium. These alloying
elements increase the number of slip systems available,
refine the microstructure by lowering the 13 transus
temperature, and also permit a small amount of
retained 13 at ambient temperatures. Sastry and
Lipsitt20 showed that the presence of niobium
improves (Xr Ti3AI ductility by reducing slip length
and planarity and increasing the tendency for nonbasal slip. An improvement in the ductility of niobium
containing alloys has also been attributed to the
dispersal of slip by small islands of 13 phase. The
results have led to much work on alloys such as
Ti-24-11 (Ref. 21) and more recently Ti-25-10-3-1
(Ref. 22) directed towards finding microstructures
giving optimum combinations of room temperature
and high temperature properties. Unfortunately, the
addition of these denser elements results in a material
which is almost as dense as the conventional titanium
alloys which it could replace. Figure 6a shows a
Ti3AI-Nb pseudobinary phase diagram developed
from the work of several investigators.23-:'-26
As illustrated, an increase in the niobium content promotes
a decrease in the 13 transus temperature. It should be
noted that this diagram indicates transformation on
cooling directly from 13 phase to (X2' However, it is
more likely that transformation occurs from 13 to
disordered (x, which subsequently orders on cooling.
The nominal composition of Ti-24-11 is indicated
by the arrow in Fig. 6a.23,26 An equivalent 'effective'
composition for Ti-25-10-3-1 would be located to
the right of that for Ti-24-11 owing to its increased
13 stabiliser content. Kim and Froes21 also proposed
a Ti3AI-Nb pseudobinary phase diagram (Fig.6b),
which is somewhat more complicated than that illustrated in Fig. 6a. These authors reported an ordering
of the 13 phase to a 132 structure and the presence of
an orthorhombic (0) phase based on Ti2NbAI.
Thermomechanical processing and heat treatment
studies on both alloys have shown that the lh2-f3
microstructures produced in these alloys closely
resemble those of similarly processed conventional
(X-f3 titanium alloys.27-3oIn many instances, structureproperty relationships have also been shown to parallel those associated with conventional titanium alloys,
although the room temperature ductility and toughness levels of the titanium aluminides are always
appreciably lower. Light and transmission electron
microscopy (TEM) bright field micrographs of (X-f3
processed Ti- 26-11 sheet in Fig. 7 (Ref. 31) show a
close resemblance to (X-f3 processed near (X or (X-f3
titanium alloys. The 13 processed or heat treated
microstructures also parallel those of conventional
alloys, as shown in Fig. 8 (Ref. 31) for 13 annealed
Ti-26-10-3-1 alloy.
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
2500
(a)
Liquid
2000
1500
Liquid+~
1000
500
(1)"
0
0
20
60
80
40
Niobium content, wt-%
;::i
.....
100
C\S
H
(1)
p,
(b)
S
~
(1)
~
1500
1000
'~
\
u2
\
\
\
500
I
Ms I
I
10
20
Niobium content, at.-%
30
a for 0-100 wt-%Nb, arrow indicates approximate

position of
Ti-24-11 ct2 alloy;23-26 b for 0-30 wt-%Nb section consisting of ct2
and p orthorhombic phases (0) and martensite transformation
Ms, after Kim and Froes21
Pseudobinary
diagram
Ti3AI-Nb
equilibrium
line
phase
The mechanical properties of these alloys are

strongly dependent on microstructure, which in turn
can be controlled by thermomechanical processing.
Luetjering et al.32 have recently described studies on
super (X2 (Ti3AI-Nb-Mo-V) which demonstrate the
potential of microstructural control.
Alloy systems based on Ti3AI-Nb ((X2) and super
(X2 are now available in preproduction
quantities for
evaluation and although alloy development is still
underway, it is unlikely that the compositions will
change markedly in the near future. At this stage, it
is not clear whether the two phase (X2 + 13 microstructures required for room temperature ductility
have adequate high temperature stability and creep
properties.
The achievement of some room temperature ductility in (X2-Ti3AIbased alloys by alloying with
niobium has also initiated increasing interest in
developing (X2-Ti3AI
based MMCs, which are expected
to surpass the monolithic (Xr Ti3Al alloys in some
properties such as fatigue and creep resistance.33
Another alternative approach is considered to be the
f;am and K09ak
./ ~.:
,<f,_
~.
\.
,~"'1
<'
"r"'''''''.
;# "'~~t,.:.~~~.'-~
pol
...
...
~-
...",,4.......;...4
.:~,,~~~
,
I 30
Jim
--.--
I
.~-<--<"-
:~~>,
fe;':
_ .. -",
a from light microscopy; b from TEM (bright field), arrows indicate

a from light microscopy; b from TEM (bright field)
Images of
a-p processed
Ti-26-11
P strips between C(2 platelets

Images of p annealed Ti-26-10-3-1
castings31
alloy31
exploitation of eutectic reactions in titanium alloys in

order to produce in situ composites with good flow
and creep resistances via relatively simple casting
technologies. These alloys offer, in addition to the
possibility of controlling the interlamellar spacing,
the advantages of microstructural and thermal stability (including interfacial stability) inherent in eutectic
microstructures.
These alloys are also expected to
offer improved high temperature properties compared
with their monolithic counterparts. Recently, several
investigations were conducted on these alloys. Wu
et al.3435 have reported that ternary Ti-AI-Si alloy
with hypoeutectic and eutectic microstructures
containing
the intermetallic
phases Ti3(AI,Si) and
Tis(Si,Alh have promising high temperature mechanical properties. However, their room temperature
ductility and fracture toughness were found to be
relatively low. Wagner et al.3637 have also investigated
the effects of niobium additions on silicon containing
C(rTi3AI based eutectic alloys and found that niobium
addition improved oxidation resistance dramatically.
However, no beneficial effect on room temperature
ductility and fracture toughness was obtained.
Rapid solidification processes offer a judicious way
of controlling microstructure, extending the solubility
range of alloying elements, and producing metastable
or amorphous phases. In the case of eutectic alloys,
microstructural
control (interlamellar spacing, eutec-
tic grain size, and eutectic structure) is of prime

concern. Metastable or amorphous phases are generally not formed in eutectic alloys. Es-Souni et al.38
have investigated the effect of rapid solidification on
the microstructure
of C(2Ti3 AI based eutectic alloy
containing silicon and niobium and reported a substantial microstructural
refinement in the melt spun
ribbons in comparison to the arc melted alloys. The
melt spinning technique, and also more sophisticated
rapid solidification techniques such as gas atomisation, seem to be promising ways of producing fine
scale microstructures.
Dutta and Banerjee39 reported superplasticity in
Ti3AI + 11 at.-%Nb alloy, which was consumable arc
remelted under vacuum, {3forged, and hot rolled well
below the (/.2-{3 transus (11 OOC) to obtain a fine
grained equiaxed C(2-/3microstructure with an average
grain size of about 4 Jlm. They attained a maximum
tensile elongation of 5200/0 at 980C and at a strain
rate of 33 x 10-4 S-I. More recently, superplasticity
in Ti-25AI-10Nb-3V-1Mo
(at.-%) quinary alloy,
known as super C(2,has been reported by Yang et al.,40
with ductilities of up to 570% when deformed at
980C and a strain rate of 15 x 10-4 S-I. In another
work, Ghosh and Cheng41 reported 800% tensile
elongations in super C(2alloy at even lower temperature (950C) and at a strain rate of the order of
10 - 4 S - 1. Ridley et al.42.43 have also studied the
superplasticity
of super C(2with an (/.2+ {3 duplex
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
f;am and K09ak
microstructure (with mean grain size 3 /lm). They

showed that enhancement of superplastic strain to
failure can be achieved for constant velocity testing
(decreasing strain rate) and not for constant strain
rate deformation. Consequently, specimens were
pulled to failure at a constant velocity of 100/0min - \
with an initial strain rate of 166 x 10-3 s -1. These
authors reported that the material showed maximum
strain rate sensitivity factor m values > 04 at temperatures of 960-980C, with a maximum tensile elongation of 13500/0at 960C. They concluded that there
is potential use for the SPF-DB process with super
a2' More recently, Guo et al.44 studied the superplasticity and diffusion bonding of Ti-14Al-21Nb-3Mo
-1 V (wt-%) super a2 alloy. They reported elongations
of ~ 573% at 950C and a strain rate of 452 x 10-5
s- \ which increased to 1096% as temperature
was raised up to 980C at the same strain
rate, whereas elongation of Ti-14Al-21Nb (wt-%)
ternary a2 alloy was reported to be 4770/0 at 950C
and a strain rate of 149 x 10- 5 S -1. These authors
also reported that increasing the strain rate decreased superplasticity; super a2 alloy exhibited 3850/0
tensile elongation at 950C and a strain rate of
49 x 10-4S-1 (Ref. 5). They also noted that the
SPF-DB technique is suitable for arTi3Al based
alloys. Nanophase a2-Ti3Al alloys produced by
mechanical attrition have also been reported,45
although it is not clear whether the expected increase
in strength and ductility has been realised.
It can be estimated from the phase diagrams that
the f3 to a2 phase transformation will be a critical
event in the joining of these materials. Work by
Baeslack et al.46,47 and Weykamp et al.48 on the
kinetics of the phase transformation has shown it to
be rather sluggish and that the reaction is even slower
in the more complex super a2 alloys.
The y- TiAl aluminides possess
properties superior to those of the a2- Ti3Al alloys,
such as lower density (3'7-3'9 g cm-1), higher elastic
modulus, and better high temperature mechanical
properties and oxidation resistance, but their room
temperature ductility is 10wer.49Extensive research in
the late 1980s led to identification of several engineering alloys based on Ti-( 47-49)Al with room temperature plastic elongation values up to 3'50/0 and
improved strength. Remarkable improvements in
fracture toughness and creep properties have also
been achieved recently, making y-TiAl aluminides
potentially viable engineering alloys.50-53There is a
ductile to brittle transition temperature for y- TiAl
aluminides, which lies between 550 and 700C
depending on the alloy composition.49 At elevated
temperatures, these alloys can exhibit very high ductilities. Although there has been an extensive effort
devoted to the development of more ductile y- TiAl
based alloys, less work has been published than on
a2-Ti3Al alloys and the ambient temperature ductilities of known y- TiAl alloys are less than those of the
arTi3Al alloys.
Chen54 has conducted quenching studies of binary
Ti-Al alloys and of some ternary systems. Although
his results show no clear evidence for the formation
of the f3 phase at high temperatures, this may have
y- TiAl aluminides.
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
been a result of insufficient soaking time before

quenching to achieve equilibrium. Furthermore, the
position of the a/a + y boundary at high temperatures
is significantly affected by the vanadium content of
the alloy. Huang and Siemers55 have reported dilatometry and solidification data which also indicate
that the a phase is stable up to the melting point and
that binary alloys containing 50-54 at.-%Al will solidify as a. These authors further point out that
comparison with other data may be difficult, as
oxygen (an a stabiliser) contents are not always
known. Degawa et al.56 have reported that oxygen
had an adverse effect on the ductility of y- TiAl
castings, whereas its effect on strength appeared to
be marginal. These authors proposed that the oxygen
content of y- TiAl alloys should be below 2000 ppm
for optimum ductility. It is likely that the effects of
other alloying elements on solidification and solid
state transformation will be pronounced, since the
alloying elements most often used to promote ductility
are f3 stabilisers. In other work, Kobayashi et al.57
studied the microstructures of rapidly solidified alloys
and again reported that the a field extends to the y field.
A number of approaches to alloying of y- TiAl to
improve ductility have been suggested and useful
reviews have been conducted by Kim49 and Khan
et al.58 Sastry and Lederich59 have proposed the use
of ductile phase reinforcement, in which small
(200 Jlm) particles of ductile titanium or niobium
alloys are incorporated into the material at the level
of 10-20 vol.-%. This is reported to have led to
increased toughness, provided that excessive reaction
between the ductile phase and the matrix could be
avoided. More conventional approaches have proposed the addition of 1-10 at.-% of elements such as
vanadium, chromium, manganese, tungsten, molybdenum, niobium, and tantalum, either singly or in
combination. The amount of aluminium and the type
and amount of ternary or quarternary additions
determines whether the crystal structure is single
phase, equiaxed y, or duplex lamellar y + a2 The
relative amounts of equiaxed and duplex y present in
the final microstructure also depend strongly on the
heat treatment and cooling rate from process
temperatures.
The y- TiAl alloys that are of engineering importance are the two phase alloys Ti-( 45-49 )Al-( 1- 3)X(1-5)Y-(0'1-1)Z, where X = V, Mn, and/or Cr, Y =
Nb, Ta, W, and/or Mo, and Z = Si, C, B, N, Ni,
Fe, P, Se, or Te.51 In the two phase a2 + y alloys,
vanadium, chromium, and manganese improve ductility, whereas niobium, silicon, tungsten, and tantalum improve oxidation resistance. In single phase
alloys, niobium and tantalum are used as strengthening additions as well as to improve corrosion resistance. Unfortunately, it seems that alloying elements
that improve ductility will decrease the oxidation
resistance49,6oa'nd the reverse is also true. However,
small additions of Group Vb and Group VIb
elements, such as telurium, selenium, and phosphorus,
improve oxidation resistance without compromising
ductility.60 Furthermore, small additions of carbon
and nitrogen are known to improve creep resistance
and silicon yields some improvements in oxidation
resistance and room temperature ductility.51 Small
9am and K09ak
additions of boron and silicon refine the microstructure. Since small variations in the alloy content
will result in significant shifts in the 1X+
2 y phase
boundary, it is obvious that alloy compositions will
have to be precisely defined.
The mechanisms by which these alloying additions
improve the ductility is complex. Yamaguchi61 has
shown that deformation in y- TiAI is predominantly
by mechanical twinning and that this can be enhanced
by manganese
additions,
an observation
also
reported by Hug and Veyssiere.62 Hanamura et al.63
and Tsujimoto and Hashimot064 have also reported
that small additions of manganese to y- TiAI improve
room temperature ductility. However, it is not clear
to what extent the mechanical properties are influenced by compositional factors or by effects of microstructure. Dogan et al.65 have investigated the effect
of manganese (1 at.-o/o) on the fracture behaviour of
Ti-485 at.-o/oAI, which has a microstructure of lamellar two phase 1X+
2 y and found that the manganese
addition did not improve the ductility.
Encouraging levels of room temperature ductility
and fracture toughness can be achieved in y- TiAI
based alloys containing minor additions of alloying
elements such as vanadium, chromium, manganese,
or niobium by appropriate
choice of composition
and process variables.49 For a given two phase
alloy composition, microstructural variations directly
influence the room temperature
ductility, which
ranges from 05 to 40/0 plastic elongation.5o,64,66-68
Recent
research
has
also
revealed
ductile
Ti + ""47 3 at.- 0/0Al alloy, which has ductility that
can exceed 400/0, even at room temperature
with
compressive testing.69
These findings have triggered extensive research
activity to improve the room temperature ductility of
y- TiAl. Attempts have involved alloying with various
additional elements and selecting alloy compositions
which lead to two phase microstructures
consisting
of 1X2-Ti3AIand y-TiA1.70 The mechanical properties
of the two phase alloys (which possess a microstructure consisting of equiaxed y grains and colonies
of thin parallel 1X2and y lamellae) are superior to
those of single phase material,66,71-73 with strength
and ductility being particularly dependent on the
volume fraction of the lamellar colonies. However, the two phase alloys' fracture toughness of
16 MPa m1/2 (Refs. 49, 66-68, 74, 75) is lower than
that of the fully lamellar microstructure
with large
grain sizes, which is typically lower than 16 MPa m1/2
(Refs. 66-68, 74-76). Two phase 1X+
2 y alloys are
heat treated in the IX+ y phase field to yield a microstructure consisting of two distinct morphologies,
namely equiaxed y grains and colonies of thin parallel
1X2and y lamellae. That these improvements in properties are associated with the complex series of
solid state phase transformations
which such alloys
undergo was first appreciated at a stage where a
number of groups12,13,16,77,78produced modifications
to the high temperature region of the appropriate
portion of the Ti-AI phase diagram. There has been
a lack of systematic work to locate precisely the high
temperature boundaries in this system and in particular to investigate whether the alloying elements
considered desirable exert their influence via effects
which are primarily 'microstructural'

or 'compositional' in nature.
Another
successful approach
which has been
reported is the use of the Martin Marietta XD process
to produce an alloy containing a dispersion of TiB2
particles (XD composite). Patterson et al.79 claimed
that the particulate reinforcement is directly responsible for grain size refinement, which in turn results
in improved casting and thermomechanical
process
characteristics.
Recently, superplastic behaviour in y- TiAI has been
attained.
A structure
composed
of y- TiAI with
3 vol.-%IX2-Ti3AI was obtained in a titanium aluminide containing 36 wt-%AI after undergoing a compressive strain of 80/0 at 1000C with a strain rate
of 10-3 S-1 and subsequently held at 925C for 24 h.
The grain size was found to be about 8 Jlm. This alloy
exhibits superplastic behaviour within the strain rate
interval 0'83-1'6 x 10-3 S-1 with an In value of 04.
The largest extension to rupture of 2500/0 was
obtained at 925C and 80 x 10-4 S-1 (Ref. 80). A
maximum elongation of > 1000/0 in y-TiAI at 1100C
at a strain rate range of 10-3 S-1 was also reported
by Mitao et al.B1 For y- TiAI based alloys, superplastic
behaviour was also achieved in the following manner.
A mixture of elemental powders of titanium and
aluminium (50 at.- /0), after undergoing a mechanical
alloying process, was hot pressed at 900C for 1 h
under a pressure of 100 MPa. This resulted in a
compact having a relative density of 99'80/0 and an
ultrafine grain structure (0'1 Jlm) consisting mainly of
the y- TiAI intermetallic compound. Grain growth up
to 2 Jlm occurred after an anneal at 1200C for 10 h.
The material lost its brittleness after the final heat
treatment and the compressive deformation of the
compact at 900C was presumed to proceed by superplastic flow.81 In more recent work, Maeda et al.82
attained a tensile elongation of 230/0 in y- TiAI at
1000C and a strain rate range of 10-5 S-1. The strain
rate sensitivity of rolled y- TiAI based Ti-48AI-2Cr
alloy was measured
in the temperature
range
1000-1200C for two different grain sizes by Clemens
et a1.83 It was shown that superplastic behaviour can
be found even for relatively coarse grained material
(27 Jlm) at temperatures above 1100C.
On heating, y- TiAI alloys will undergo changes in
the equilibrium 1X21y ratio (with IXbeing more stable
at higher temperatures) and eventually (at least under
equilibrium conditions) a complete transformation of
y to IXwill take place. According to the phase diagram
proposed by McCullough et al.12,16 there is a phase
change at about 1130C from 1X+
2 y to IX+ y and
eventually complete transformation to IX.
TiAl3 aluminides.
Although alloys based on the
TiAl3 stoichiometric
composition have been developed, these alloys are not yet as well optimised as
other titanium aluminides and are still a long way
from commercial production. However, the low density, high specific strength, good elevated temperature
properties, and excellent oxidation resistance have
provided an incentive for alloy development. The
D022 structure is derived from the fcc (LI2) structure,
which generally exhibits some ductility. Several
authors have reported that Ti-AI-X alloys with the
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
10
9am and K09ak
(a)
550
.6.
~ transus
lr)
~
I
I
I,
I
I
:P -'U2
P -.
,
+B2P
~ +~p
p -.
(~+P)n&g+U2
I
~'+U2+j3IB2
~
fucreasing diffusional growtWdecreasing shear product

Partitionless
,
+U2+P
P -.
450
~
~~ 400
~:::
]
:r::
350
300
--.
Increasing partitioning
Ti-26AI-llNb
o Ti-26.IAI-9.6INb-2.9V-O.9Mo
500
---.
250
Time
0.1
1
10
100
1000
Cooling rate in from 1200C to tr~nsformation
or 800DC, K S-l
1400 (b)
- - - Ti-26Al-11Nb
-Ti-26.1 Al-9.61 Nb-2.9V-0.9Mo
10
1200
Knoop hardness (500 g load) v. cooling rate for

and super U2 alloys continuously cooled from
1200C (Ref. 47)
U2
~
v
1000
---- --
l-<
~~
800
~
I
600
I
I
I
I
10K/s
lOOK/s
lK/s
400
1
lO
1000
100
Time,s
a for decomposition
of high temperature
f3 phase in (X2 alloy
(schematic), after Weykamp et al.;48 b for (X2 and super (X2 alloys as
determined by dilatometry47
Continuous cooling transformation
curves
L12 structure can be produced by alloying with

copper,84-87 nickel and zinc,84,85,87iron,87-89 boron,86
manganese,84,85,87,90 chromium,84,87,90,91 cobalt,87 or
paladium.92 Studies on the Ti-AI-Mn and Ti-AI-~r
systems have indicated lower hardne.ss value~ .than In
TiAI3, together with good compreSSIve ductthty, ~nd
some tensile ductility. Mechanical data about TIA13
alloys are very scarce, but properties comparable to
or better than those of y- TiAI alloys have been
reported
at ambient and elevated temperatures.
Zhang et al.84 have suggested that quarternary
Ti-AI-Mn-V
alloys are the most promising.
No indications of phase changes with temperature
have been reported following preliminary differential
thermal analysis (DTA) studies,84 but other intermetallic compounds, which could result in loss of
ductility, were observed in these alloys before hom?genisation. Tarnacki and Kim86 found that rapId
solidification in alloys containing boron or manganese
still resulted in the L12 structure and that boron and
manganese formed second phases which markedly
strengthened the matrix, increased the hardness: ~nd
refined the microstructure.
In copper contaInIng
alloys however, rapid solidification had little effect,
but these authors reported that all rapidly solidified
alloys appeared to be brittle. Hoellrig and Ogilvy,93
who supported this observation, investigated spray
deposition of various TiAI3-X allo~s: They reported
that a slow cooling rate from depOSItIon temperature
to ambient temperature
was required to prevent
cracking of the sprayed preforms.
Welding metallurgy of titanium aluminides
(X2- Ti3Al
aluminides.
Although published data are
limited, there is no evidence to suggest that the (X2
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
based alloys suffer from any major weldability difficulties in terms of susceptibility to hot cracking, etc.
David et a1.94 have carried out sigmajig tests on a
Ti- 24Al-ll Nb alloy and reported that the resistance
to solidification cracking was quite acceptable. The
major problem with this alloy is its very low du~tility
at ambient temperature and the consequent fIsk of
solid state cracking.
The most significant factor in the joining of ct2
alloys is the f3 to (X phase transformation,
which is
comparatively
sluggish and much slower than the
similar y and (X transformation which is critical in the
welding of ferrous alloys. It is rather difficult to
quantify the comparison, but it is worth noting that
a cooling rate as slow as 50 K s -1 in super (X2 alloys
still suppresses any f3 decomposition, whereas such a
cooling rate in common C- Mn steels would ensure
complete transformation. Several authors46-48,95 have
concluded that rapid cooling of (X2 and super (X2 alloys
from the f3 phase results in little or no f3 decomposit~on
and that the microstructure
consequently
conSIsts
primarily of retained ordered f32' Alt.hough this phase
is comparatively ductile, it has margIn~1 notch tou~hness and is therefore not always a deSIrable constItuent. Furthermore,
it is thermodynamically
unstable
and exposure at elevated temperatures in service may
lead to transformation
to the equilibrium (X2 phase.
Less rapid cooling from the f3 phase field will yield
a very hard (X2 martensitic structure, with virtually no
retained f3 phase,48,95 together with the formation of
and OJ phases.94,96 Although this martensitic structure exhibited very high strength, it was very brittle
and therefore clearly undesirable. In order to obtain
the most desirable microstructure in (X2 alloys, which
consists of a fine (X2-f3 mixture, it is necessary to cool
quite slowly from the f3 phase field and this requires
either the application of very high preheats before
welding to slow down the cooling rate or the development of specific post-weld heat treatment (PWHT)
schedules
to produce
desirable
microstructures.
Weykamp et al.48 have proposed a s~hematic ~ontinuous cooling transformation (CCT) dIagram (FIg. 9a),
which shows the various transformations in (X2' It can
be seen that, as might be expected, the diffusion
controlled transformations are favoured at slow cooling rates and shear at higher cooling rates. ~ae~lack
and Broderick47 have also proposed a prehmInary
9am and Ko(:ak
CCT diagram for tt2 and super tt2 alloys, which is

given in Fig. 9b. This diagram clearly demonstrates
the effect of various alloy compositions on the rate
of transformation in these alloys. Figure 10, from the
same work, shows the effect of cooling rate on the
hardness of the alloy. As can be seen from Fig. 10,
the peak hardness value corresponds to fairly modest
cooling rates, particularly in the more highly alloyed
super tt2 alloys.
Thus, joining processes in which the cooling rates
can be closely controlled are likely to be particularly
useful in producing the desirable weld microstructure.
In this respect, processes such as electron beam
welding followed by beam rastering to slow the
cooling rate are promising.
The degree of the ordering of the f3 phase appears
to depend on the previous thermal history, 97 since
it will determine the Til Al ratio in this phase.
Furthermore, variations in the degree of f3 ordering
may be present across a weldment. Kestner- Weykamp
et al.97 have pointed out that the degree of f3 ordering
may be of more than academic interest, since the
higher diffusivity expected for the disordered f3 phase
will adversely influence creep resistance. Peters and
Bassi98 have reported two additional phases in super
a2 alloys existing as precipitates, namely a hcp w
phase and an 0 phase. These precipitates only appear
after long periods at elevated temperatures and are
thus unlikely to form as a result of welding unless the
cooling rate is extremely slow.
There is considerable evidence to suggest that the
ductility of tt2 (Ref. 99) and super tt2 (Ref. 100) aluminides can be influenced by hydrogen. It has been
suggested that hydrogen embrittlement is associated
with the formation of a hydride phase, possibly
TiNbH (Ref. 99), TiH2 (Ref. 101), or Ti3AIH (Ref.
102). Recent publications
by Eliezer et al.103 and
104
Schwartz et al.
have concluded that the mechanisms of hydrogen embrittlement are very complex and
that hydrogen behaves in a different manner in the
a2 and f3 phases, with hydride formation being much
more likely in the former. Furthermore, diffusion rates
for hydrogen are appreciably higher in the f3 phase.
Hydrogen embrittlement could be quite important
in several joining
processes, especially in slag
shielded arc welding, where hydrogen is unavoidably
introduced
into the weld pool. Fortunately,
such
processes are not normally used for titanium based
alloys. It is possible that any effects of hydrogen will
be most significant in joining processes in which
high hardness a2 martensite is formed, which will
have very low ductility even in the absence of
hydrogen.
y- TiAI aluminides.
No solidification cracking problems have been reported for y- TiAI aluminides, but
the major challenge is again the ability to cope with
the lack of ambient temperature ductility. Non-equilibrium solid state phase transformations
have not
been fully investigated, but it is well established that
significant changes in the equilibrium a21y ratio will
take place on heating and a phase transformation
to
tt will occur at high temperatures.
In the alloys
containing f3 stabilisers, it is likely, but not demonstrated, that some f3 phase may form at very high
11
temperatures.
However, this is not likely to be a
major problem.
It has been reported 105,106that hydrogen can form
previously unknown hexagonal hydrides in some
y- TiAI alloys under high pressures and temperatures.
The same authors have also detected cubic J titanium
hydrides and other undetermined
precipitates
in
y- TiAI alloys after hydrogen charging. Eliezer et al.103
and Schwartz et a1.104 have pointed out that y-TiAI
alloys would be expected to have good resistance to
hydrogen
embrittlement,
except under the most
extreme conditions. Although there is no direct evidence to support this point of view, it is not likely
that hydrogen would be of major concern in the
welding of y- TiAI alloys.
TiAl3 aluminides.
No studies on the we1dability or
welding metallurgy of TiAl3 based alloys have been
reported, but it is known from studies on the processing of these alloys that any operation involving
rapid cooling of the joint is likely to lead to cracking.
No information is available on the non-equilibrium
cooling and possible transformations which may take
place. Because of the high aluminium content of TiAl3
alloys, joining processes such as diffusion bonding
may require an interlayer and it is likely that these
alloys may not be able to withstand the severe plastic
deformation required in processes such as friction
welding.
The complexity of the binary Ti-AI phase diagram
in the range between the TiAI and TiAl3 compounds,17,18 where several other intermetallic compounds may exist, will also have a significant effect
on the microstructure and hence performance of joints
cooled under non-equilibrium conditions. This aspect
will obviously require further investigation when progress has been made on the more critical shortcoming
of the undesirably low ductility of these alloys.
Welding of titanium aluminides
Solid state joining of a2- Ti3Al aluminides.
Work at
TWl107,108 has demonstrated
that diffusion bonding
of ttr Ti3AI alloys presents few problems in terms of
producing a sound weld and that 25 at.- 0/0 Al has no
apparent effect on the excellent quality of the bonds
which can normally be made in titanium alloys. It is
reasonable to assume that the same will be true of
the super tt2 compositions. However, no data yet exist
on the properties of such welds, particularly at elevated temperatures. Figure 11 (Ref. 108) shows microstructures at the bond line in specimens diffusion
bonded above and below the f3 transus and the partial
transformation
which occurs at the higher temperature is evident. A good quality bond can however
be obtained at lower temperatures. Ridley et al.42,43
have reported some initial studies on diffusion bonding of super tt2 with a 3 mm thickness. Trials of
isostatic diffusion bonding were carried out at various
temperatures
below the f3 transus
temperature
(reported to be 1080-1 085C) and satisfactory bonds
were obtained at temperatures of 1030 and 1050C.
At the latter temperature, the alloy contains about
800/0 f3 phase. The authors believed that considerable
potential for SPF-DB exists. More recently, Guo
et al.44 reported a shear strength of 7976 MPa
in super tt2 diffusion bonded without interlayer at
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
12
f;am and Ko(:ak
if)
500
~ 400
~
rJ:J
"0
BM
HAZ
FZ
HAZ
~ 300
~
::r:
200
-1.6
IBM
-1.2
1.6
Distance from \\eld centrelire, mm
12 Knoop microhardness traverse for inertia

friction weld in 19 mm diameter U2 rod46
a bonded at 1070C (above p transus temperature) under 3-44 MPa

pressure for 2 h; b bonded at 1035C (below p transus temperature)
under 344 MPa pressure for 2 h
11 Diffusion bonds in Ti-26-11: arrows indicate

bond line 108
x 400
990C under pressure of 9 MPa for 70 min, which

approached the shear strength of the base metal. They
also reported that there are good prospects for
elrTi3AI based alloys to be formed using the SPF-DB
technique.
Cox et al.109 successfully demonstrated the potential
for diffusion bonding of elr Ti3Al alloys using capacitor discharge heating. Depending on the conditions
used, either a solid state or a fusion weld was produced, but the authors reported higher shear strengths
in solid state bonds made with higher electrode force
and that these properties exceeded those found in
fusion welds by a significant margin. Shear stress
values of up to 355 MPa were reported for bonds in
17 mm thick sheet. Under these conditions, peak
hardness values of around 380 HK were observed at
the bond line.
Friction welding offers an attractive method of
joining these materials and some success has been
obtained using inertia welding in the USA 46 and
linear friction welding at TWI.lo8,llo However, these
studies were again confined to el2 compositions and
it was found that in both process variants the region
close to the bond line developed unfavourable microstructures consisting of retained f3 and el2 martensite.
This is reflected in the hardness data shown in Figs. 12
(inertia welding) and 13 (continuous drive). Although
the microstructures are difficult to identify by optical
microscopy, recent studies by Baeslack et al.108,110
using TEM have confirmed the presence of el2 martensite and retained f3 at the bond line, with more f3
being present in welds made at a higher frequency
where the cooling rate would have been faster.
Stotler et al.lll conducted successful flash welding
of el2- Ti3AI alloys in 05 x 02 in (125 x 5 mm) secInternational
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
No.1
tions and reported encouraging mechanical property data. Their limited microstructural data show
that the bond line structure consisted of fine el2 and
retained f3 phases, but no hardness measurements
were reported. Further studies by the same authors1l2
demonstrated that the changes in the microstructures
are related to variations in process parameters. They
suggested that some control of cooling rate, and in
turn microstructure, can be achieved by varying the
die opening and upset distance. Increasing the former
caused a decrease in the cooling rate, whereas increasing the latter increased the cooling rate. Increasing
the upset distance also resulted in the displacement
of the more heated material into the flash, reducing
the width of the HAZ and generally increasing the
strength of the weld. Martensitic microstructure was
the predominantly produced structure over the range
of conditions studied, but the scale of the microstructure varied significantly. In contrast to expectation, the weld with the highest hardness exhibited
the best ambient temperature mechanical properties
(ultimate tensile strength 490 MPa). The authors attributed this to the greater degree of forging in this
weld. Additionally, considerable scatter in hardness
data was reported, with low strength welds failing at
the weld line at a stress of 158-167 MPa. These very
low values could be attributed to the small cracks
possibly introduced during the joining process.
Baeslack et al.1l3 reported some limited data on
the joining of an C(rTi3AI alloy to a Ti-6AI-2Sn4Zr-2Mo-01Si alloy by diffusion bonding, linear
friction welding, and capacitor discharge spot welding.
600
550
OC
OOoto
if)
)(0
500
I 0
o.x
x
::r:~ 450
rJ:J
"0
~ 400
<>
350
300
~g
<>
.x3xo)C
C
250
<>
i~
8c~
8c~ ~
o 0 c
200
-4
-3
-2
-1
Distance from weld centre, mm
o
o
14-21/14-21,
14-21/14-21,
6242/14-21,
25 Hz, edge; D 14-21/14-21,

125 Hz, centre; x 14-21/14-21,
25 Hz, centre
25 Hz, centre;
50 Hz, centre;
13 Hardness traverses across linear friction welds

in a2 alloy illustrating
effect of welding
frequency 110
r;am and
The microstructures
of the welds were characterised
in detail by optical microscopy, TEM, and electron
probe microanalysis. Evidence of elemental diffusion
across the interface was found in the diffusion bonds,
promoting a corresponding microstructural
gradient.
In contrast, the linear friction welds demonstrated
intense and highly localised mechanical mixing with
minimal interdiffusion. The microstructure, subjected
to intense mechanical work, had undergone complete
dynamic recrystallisation of the 13 grains. Spot welds
showed no evidence of mechanical
mixing or
interdiffusion.
Fusion welding of r.J.2- Ti3 Al alulninides. Limited data
in literature from the USA suggest that a number of
fusion weld processes can be successfully adapted to
the joining of r.J.2 type alloys,46,94,114-117but published
information on fusion welds in the super r.J.2 types is
very scarce. Studies on r.J.2 and super r.J.2 have mostly
concentrated on process optimisation and very limited
mechanical data other than hardness and bend data
are available.
Baeslack et al.46 studied the welding of Ti- 26-11
and found that the weld microstructure and mechanical properties had a strong dependence on the cooling
rate experienced during the weld thermal cycle. It was
found out that moderate cooling rates associated with
conventional
gas tungsten
arc (GTA) welding
(25-75 K s -1) promote the formation of an extremely
fine, acicular r.J.2 microstructure (hcp (D019) superlattice) which exhibits low ductility and high susceptibility to solid state cracking during weld cooling. It
was also found that improvements
in GTA weld
ductility and cracking resistance could be achieved
by using slower weld cooling rates 10 K s -1) to
produce a coarser r.J.2 platelet + retained 13 microstructure.46 However, it is practically rather difficult
to achieve such cooling rates as they require heating
of the workpiece to relatively high temperatures
during the welding operation.95
Increases in the peak hardness of the fusion zone
and the HAZ were reported by Baeslack et al.46 and
David et al.94 The data of David et al. also demonstrate the dependence of the peak hardness and HAZ
width on the process parameters. As expected, the
wid th of the HAZ increased with increasing energy
input, but the peak hardness also increased with
increased heat input. The authors attributed this to
the increased retention of 13 phase in the lower heat
input welds and consequent reduction in the quantity
of fine r.J.2 martensite. They also suggested that an
OJ phase, as observed
by Strychor et al.,96 may be
present. However, no firm evidence to support this
view was given. The microstructure
and hardness
data of David et al.94 are in agreement with the results
of Baeslack et al.,46 who also reported low peak
hardnesses and attributed this to the retention of
P phase.
Baeslack et al.115 also conducted laser welding of
an r.J.rTi3AI alloy in 17 mm thick sheet using a
Nd- YAG laser. They reported that the application of
pulsed Nd- YAG laser welding produced crack free
weldments in Ti-26-11. The extremely rapid cooling
rates provided by this high energy density welding
process suppressed the 13 to r.J. transformation
and
KOfak
13
600
(a)
500
400
300
200
-1.2
.. .-0.8
BM[ HAZ
-004
004
0.8
400
300

-1.0
1.2
I HAZ
FZ
(b)
200
IBM
-0.5
0.5
Distance from weld centreline,
1.0
mm
a as welded;101 b after PWHT116
14
Knoop hardness traverses across Nd- VAG laser

welds in u2-Ti3AI alloy
promoted
the formation
of a relatively ductile,
ordered P microstructure
(bee (B2) microstructure,
CsCI type) within the fusion zone. Although this 13
(B2) phase is highly metastable, it is possible to
stabilise the microstructure
and develop acceptable
mechanical properties. Transmission electron microscopy examination of the fusion zone of welded specimens demonstrated almost complete retention of the
13 phase, which existed as a fine equiaxed ordered 132
structure, suggesting dynamic recrystallisation
had
occurred on cooling. Only isolated formation of r.J.2
was observed at prior 13 grain boundaries and at
dislocations. The extensive 13 retention was reflected
in the hardness traverse which showed an appreciable
drop in the fusion zone hardness compared with that
in the HAZ, shown in Fig. 14a.
In subsequent studies, Baeslack et al.116,117 investigated the influence of PWHT at temperatures between
565 and 850C followed by slow cooling on 13 decomposition in the fusion zone of a Nd-YAG laser welded
Ti-26-11 alloy. However, they found that low temperature PWHT increases fusion zone hardness and
significantly lowers bend ductility (Fig. 14b). The
authors attributed this reduction in ductility to partial
decomposition of the metastable P fusion zone microstructure to an extremely fine r.J.2 microstructure.
Hardness values in the HAZ were unaffected by the
heat treatment. In particular, Baeslack et al. sought
evidence for the 13 decomposition
to an OJ phase
reported by Strychor et al.96 after heat treatment at
400C, but found none. They also demonstrated that
the ductility of pulsed Nd-YAG laser welds in the
Ti-26-11 alloy increases with increasing PWHT temperature, with a bend ductility following PWHT at
850C being almost equivalent to that of the r.J.-f3
processed base metal. This is probably a result of
the microstructural
coarsening at higher PWHT
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
14
9am and Kot;ak
temperatures with a corresponding improvement in

weld ductility. However, more detailed evaluation
of PWHT, especially at higher temperatures, will be
required to develop acceptable laser weld mechanical
properties.
Baeslack et a1.46 and David118 have investigated
autogenous tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding of
LirTi3AI alloys. Baeslack et al. reported epitaxial
growth of coarse fJ grains from the HAZ, which had
transformed to a fine Liz microstructure in both the
fusion zone and HAZ. The near HAZ structure was
both finer and harder than the fusion zone microstructure and no retained fJ phase was reported.
Baeslack114 has proposed that cooling rates of the
order of 25 K s -lor slower would be required to
generate the optimum Liz + fJ microstructure and this
could necessitate the maintenance of interpass temperatures of about 600C. Cieslack et al.95 have calculated
that a higher temperature of about 795C is required
to achieve a cooling rate of 01 K s -1, which would
produce an equilibrium
+ fJ microstructure for
similar material. David118 did not conduct a detailed
study of the microstructure of TIG welds, but did
comment that the alloy was resistant to solidification
cracking.
A detailed assessment of the HAZ in TIG welds of
a similar alloy has recently also been undertaken by
Baeslack et al.119 These authors have discriminated
between the microstructures observed in the near
HAZ and far HAZ. In the near HAZ, where significant
fJ grain growth had occurred, fJ decomposition on
cooling was primarily caused by fine, acicular Liz
phase, with more martensite closer to the fusion
boundary. In the far HAZ, only partial transformation
to fJ took place, this being along Liz grain boundaries
and by the nucleation and growth of fJ transversely
across the Liz grains, with the expected increase in the
degree of transformation with an increase in peak
temperature.
Cox et al.109 conducted capacitor discharge resistance welding of an Liz- Ti3Al alloy. They reported that
the cooling rate was so fast that again the microstructure consisted predominantly of retained fJ. No
cracking was encountered in these welds.
The alloy Ti-25-10-3-1, also known as super Liz,
is a second generation Liz- Ti3Al alloy which contains
a higher fJ stabiliser content than Ti-26-11. This
higher fJ stabiliser content, and in particular the
presence of slowly diffusing molybdenum, would be
expected to promote more sluggish fJ decomposition
kinetics such that a potentially more crack resistant
fJ (B2) microstructure may be produced at the moderate cooling rates experienced during GTA welding.
Baeslack and Broderick47 investigated the effect of
cooling rate on the structure and hardness of a
Ti-26-10-3-1 titanium aluminide. They found that
the on cooling bcc to hcp phase transformations in
Ti-26-10-3-1 closely parallel those in Ti-26-11, but
initiate at appreciably longer times. They concluded
that the retention of a relatively soft fJ (B2) microstructure at cooling rates down to 25 K s-1 indicates
the potential for producing conventional GTA welds
without solid state cracking. Conversely, these slow
transformation kinetics will make the practical generation of thermally stable Widmanstatten Liz + fJ
(,(z
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
microstructures in fusion weldments very difficult

owing to the extremely slow cooling rates required.
Baeslack and Threadgill107 have performed COz
laser welding for a Ti-26-10-3-1 alloy. In earlier
work,46 the lack of response to etching together with
the fairly low maximum hardness (about 375 HKO'5)
indicated a substantial amount of retained fJ in the
microstructure, although the increase in the hardness
compared to the parent material was an indication
of the presence of some Liz martensite. These lower
hardness values confirm the expectation that fJ to Li
transformation is more sluggish in the more highly
alloyed super Liz. Baeslack114 has also referred to
other preliminary work on COz laser welding of super
Liz, where a predominantly fJz microstructure was
observed, again with extensive solid state cracking,
indicating a greater susceptibility to cracking in the
ordered fJz microstucture. The same author has also
reported similar experiences in capacitor discharge
resistance welding of super
where again the microstructure consisted of ordered fJz, and where cracking
occurred during cooling. In contrast, Baeslack
et al.115,116 also reported that no cracking was
observed in Ti-26-11 Liz alloy (1'7 mm thick) welded
by pulsed Nd-YAG laser welding, despite the suppression of the fJ to Li transformation. Unfortunately,
there are very limited data on the weldability of super
Liz alloys.
(,(z,
Diffusion
bonding is considered to be one of the most suitable
joining techniques for y- TiAI aluminides. For instance,
Nakao et al.120 successfully demonstrated the potential for diffusion bonding of a binary y (38 wt-%AI)
alloy at temperatures of 1000-1200C. They reported
that reasonable mechanical properties can be
obtained with tensile test failure away from the
interface at room temperature, although bond line
failures occur at elevated temperatures. Post-weld
heat treatments led to recrystallisation of the bond,
which in turn improved the high temperature mechanical properties, giving tensile failures away from the
bond line. It was also proposed that only limited
migration takes place across the interface. However,
some migration was induced following PWHT, giving
rise to tensile test failures in the base metal at elevated
temperatures.
Yan et a1.1Z1 also reported some success in diffusion
bonding of a Ti-45AI alloy, with and without the use
of interlayers. They demonstrated that good bond
strengths were achieved without interlayers at
high bonding temperatures (1200C) and pressures
40 MPa). The use of interlayers (titanium and
vanadium) produced sound welds, but a PWHT was
necessary to optimise the mechanical properties. The
improvement of mechanical properties by PWHT is
shown in Fig. 15. Attempts to identify an interlayer
which would permit TLP bonding failed owing to
tendencies to form high temperature eutectics or other
stable intermetallics. However, copper based interlayers may prove to be useful.
Later, Yan et al.12Z investigated solid state bonding
of Ti-48AI (at.-%) alloy consisting of y-TiAI as the
matrix and Liz- Ti3AI as the second phase with sputter
coated interlayers of interest (containing titanium,
Solid state joining of y- TiAl aluminides.
9am and Kor;ak
500
C'j
400
0..
~
.ci
en
300
D Not heat treated

D Heat treated
Q)
b
CIJ
l-<
C'j
Q)
200
..c
en
100
0
Plain bonds
Ti
Parent materials
Interlayers
15 Effect of PWHT on shear strength of diffusion
bonds in )' alloy:121 bonding conditions 1000C,

20 MPa for 30 min; heat treatment 1400C for
2h
vanadium, niobium, chromium, and manganese) in a

thickness range of 05-15 Jlm. It was found that the
bondability of titanium aluminide is improved by
interlayers of vanadium, chromium, and manganese
and that bonding can be carried out at relatively low
temperatures or pressures, i.e. 1000C and 20 MPa.
Although the resulting bond line microstructures were
different from that of the parent material and the
bond properties were relatively poor, a post-bond
heat treatment (PBHT) at 1340C produced a lamellar structure of TiAI + Ti3 Al in the bond region and
thus improved the bond properties, including deformability at high temperatures.
However, since
vanadium, chromium, and manganese all decrease
the oxidation resistance of TiAI,49 the oxidation resistance of bonds made with these interlayers may be a
potential cause for concern. Van et al.122,123 suggested
the use of a niobium interlayer in addition to
vanadium, chromium, or manganese to improve oxidation resistance while maintaining the ductility of
bonds, since niobium additions to y- TiAI alloys significantly improve its oxidation resistance.49
Van and Wallach123 have also reported success in
diffusion bonding of y- TiAl. They have pointed out
that surface finish, bonding temperature, and pressure
are important parameters, as expected. They suggested that solid state bonding of y- TiAI should be
carried out at temperatures
of at least 1100C to
obtain joints with acceptable mechanical properties.
A rougher surface finish (i.e. with 1200 grit emery
paper) rather than a polished surface should be chosen
to increase plastic deformation at the interface and
thus to promote recrystallisation at the bond line and
in turn greater bond strength. However, an even
rougher surface (rougher than 1200 grit finish) is not
beneficial since the resulting larger interface voids
take longer to remove by the various diffusion
processes during bonding, although more local plastic deformation
can occur with rougher surfaces.
Furthermore,
to avoid the use of high temperature
and high pressure simultaneously,
a two stage
bonding process is used which comprises first high
pressure at a low temperature for a short time and
second low pressure, but at a high temperature for a
longer time.
15
Solid state diffusion bonds produced using 1200

grit surface finish, joined in two stages (lOOOC and
40 MPa for 5 min, followed by 1200C and 5 MPa
for 30 min), exhibited the best results. However, the
shear strength of the joint was below that of the
parent material. The same authors also investigated
TLP diffusion bonding of y- TiAI using low melting
and high melting alloys. They reported that the low
melting filler alloys based on Ti-Cu or Ti- Ni react
with the base material and form intermetallic particles
at the interface during bonding, leading to void
formation during PWHT. In order to avoid this,
homogenisation
of bonds (or optimisation of properties) has to be carried out in two steps; first, use of
a low temperature for a long time until the intermetallic particles dissolve into the base material (i.e. 1020C
for 40 h), and second, use of a high temperature to
optimise the microstructure
and properties of bond
regions (i.e. 1340C for 40 min). Therefore, these alloys
should be used only when bonding at a low temperature is of particular interest.
For TLP bonds made with high melting filler alloys
(i.e. V-49Ni (at.-%) or Ti-38Mn (at.-%)), homogenisation at high temperature can be used directly to
achieve optimised properties, since no intermetallic
particles form during bonding. Hence, the properties
of bonds made with these two high melting alloys
were better than those of bonds made using low
melting alloys. Furthermore,
filler alloy elements,
such as vanadium and manganese, can significantly
improve the ductility of y- TiAI. The room temperature
bend properties (four point bending), namely strength
and ductility, of bonds made with a filler alloy
of V-49Ni (at.-%) (thickness 1 Jlm) at 1250C and
2 MPa for 10 min and homogenised at 1340C for
1 h were comparable with those of the parent material.
Another success in diffusion bonding of y- TiAI
(",47'3 at.-%AI) has been reported.124 Sound bonded
joints for mechanical testing without micro voids and
oxide films, such as Ti02 or Al2 TiOs, on the bonded
interfaces were produced at a temperature of 1200C
for 384 ks at 15 MPa pressure. However, a PBHT at
1300C was necessary to optimise the tensile properties of the joint, resulting in fracture in the base
material at a temperature of 1000C.
<;am et al.12S-128 have recently also demonstrated
that both cast and rolled y- TiAI alloys can be successfully bonded by solid state diffusion bonding. The
bonds produced using 1200 grit surface finish exhibited the best results. Defect free bonds were produced
without difficulty and recrystallised y grains with
varying sizes were formed at the bond interfaces.
For cast y- TiAI alloy, higher bonding temperatures
and pressures provided better results, the best bond
quality being achieved by bonding at 1200C and
a pressure of 20 MPa, without PBHT (Fig. 16a).
The effect of PBHT was also studied and it was
found that the bond strength of bonds produced
at lower temperatures (i.e. 975C) can be improved
by heat treatment (Fig. 16b).126 For rolled y-TiAI
alloy, the highest shear strength of 540 MPa was
achieved by bonding
at 1000C using 20 MPa
pressure for 5 h, which produced indiscernible bond
lines (Fig. 17).128 Defect free bonds with reasonable
shear strengths (300-440 MPa) could be produced
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
16
9am and K09ak
1000
,,4
,t('
840
1 aluminide-aluminide
2 aluminide-ferritic steel
3 aluminide-austenitic steel
680
=r:
520
>
2/
I
I
200
-0.75
-0.45
-0.15 0
0.15
0.45
0:75
Distance, mm
18
a as bonded at 1100C under 30 MPa pressure for 1 h; b after

PBHT at 1340C for 1 h
16
Micrographs showing bond regions in cast yTiAI alloy: arrows indicate bond line 126
even with pressure as low as 5 MPa for a bonding

time of 8 h.
Electron beam diffusion bonding of a Ti-48AI2Cr-2Nb alloy was also investigated at TWI.129
17
Micrograph showing bond region in rolled

y-TiAI alloy bonded at 1000C under 20 MPa
pressure for 5 h: arrows indicate bond line 128
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
No.1
Hardness traverse
across friction
welds
between y-TiAI alloy and y-TiAI alloy, stainless
steel, and ferritic steel131
Defect free bonds were achieved and no obvious

change in hardness with distance from the bond line
was observed. However, no mechanical data were
reported.
Inertia friction welding is being considered as
another alternative solid state joining technique
for y- TiAI aluminides. However, work130 on inertia
friction welding of Ti-48AI-2Cr-2Nb (at.-%) alloy
showed that cracking occurred in the outer periphery
and central heat and deformation zone (HDZ). No
PWHT was carried out in this work.
Initial attempts at linear friction welding of y- TiAI
alloys have been made at TWI,107 but the welds
showed extensive cracking. However, the joint quality
was generally reasonable, with extensive grain
refinement in the bond owing to dynamic recrystallisation. In an attempt to eliminate cracking, further
welds were made with lower friction and forge forces
and sound welds could be produced.129 Horn131 has
also claimed that crack free welds in 6 and 8 mm
diameter bars of an alloy believed to be Ti-48AI were
produced by rotary friction welding, but he gave no
detailed welding conditions. A slight hardness increase
across the weld was observed, as shown in Fig. 18.
Furthermore, success was also reported in joining the
same material to an X55CrMnNiN-22-9-5 austenitic
stainless steel by the same process, although attempts
to weld the aluminide to an X22Cr Ni17 ferritic steel
led to extensive interface cracking as a result of very
high hardness levels in the steel.
Fusion processes for y- TiAl aluminides.
Patterson
et a1.79,132 have studied autogenous electron beam
welding of a near y-TiAI composite, Ti-48AI (at.-%)
containing 65 vol.-% TiB2 (XD composite), and
reported a significant susceptibility to solid state
cracking. The authors suggested that this could be
overcome by reducing the cooling rate to less than
300 K s-lor by applying a preheat at 250C. They
observed a significant increase in the weld zone
hardness, with higher hardness levels produced at
higher welding speeds owing to the higher cooling
rates.
Similar studies on a binary Ti-48AI alloy132demonstrated that a slower cooling rate of about 100 K S-l
was required to avoid solid state cracking. Patterson
f;am and K09ak
17
Nickel content, wt-%

10
20
40
30
50
60
100
90
80
70
1800
1638 DC
1600
L
1400
AINi
800 660.452
/
600
(AI)
400
o
Al
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
100
90
Ni
Nickel content, at.-olo
19 Ni-AI phase diagram
et a1.79,132 also reported some microstructural
evaluations of electron beam welds both in the composite

material and in the binary alloy. The microstructure
of the fused composite material was not studied
conclusively, although it was reported that an acicular
phase rich in titanium and boron was observed. In
the binary alloy,132 coarsening of the lamellar (X2+ Y
microstructure
occurred in the HAZ. The authors
could not define the exact weld metal microstructure
in the composite alloy, although it was suggested that
the predominant phase was metastable (X2with some
y colonies. They also suggested that solidification
processes are dominated by epitaxial growth.
Electron beam weld ability of y- TiAI alloys was also
investigated at TWI.129 It was found that welds both
with and without preheat showed extensive cracking,
although the welds produced with preheating at 500
or 625C exhibited less extensive transverse cracking.
The rapidly cooled microstructure obtained from the
run without preheat was predominantly
equiaxed,
whereas the slower cooled runs exhibited a predominantly lamellar duplex (X2+ y microstructure.
In unpublished work at TWI,107 the CO2 laser
welding of a Ti-48AI-2Cr-2Nb
alloy was investigated. Initial trials resulted in extensive cracking away
from the weld and some porosity was also noted at
the lower welding speeds. No detailed study of the
weld microstructure was conducted, although it was
suggested that it was possibly a mixture of two phases,
which were almost certainly (X2 and y. However,
further microstructural
study is required to characterise these deposits fully. It was also noted that there
was a significant increase in hardness in the fusion
zone and this appeared to be more pronounced at
higher welding speeds. Although no detailed micro-
structural evaluation was carried out, this was suggested to be a result of the formation of (X2martensite.
General comments on titanium base
intermetallics
The successful integration of titanium aluminides into
gas turbine systems requires their joining both to
themselves and to conventional
titanium
alloys.
Appropriate welding procedures to join titanium aluminides have yet to be established in order to fully
use them commercially. Diffusion bonding has been
shown to be a successfully applicable joining technique for both (X2and y based alloys. The SPF-DB
technique is also believed to be promising for production of hollow turbine blades from y- TiAI alloys.
Further work is, however, needed to provide more
mechanical data and detailed evaluation of microstructures remain to be completed, particularly for
fusion welding processes of y- TiAI based alloys. The
SPF-DB and laser (C02 and Nd-YAG) welding of
y-TiAI will be investigated at the GKSS Research
Center. Two industrial projects have already been
established to work on the topic.
Joining of other intermetallics
Physical metallurgy of nickel aluminides
A number of excellent reviews on the physical metalIurgy and mechanical properties of nickel and iron
aluminides can be found in the literature, the most
recent being by Liu and Kumar,133 Miracle,134 Noebe
et al.,13S and Threadgill and Dance.129
Several intermetallics are formed between nickel
and aluminium, namely Ni3AI, NisA13, Ni2A13, and
NiAI (Fig. 19). Of these intermetallic
compounds
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
No.1
18
9am and Kor;ak
Ni3Al and NiAl are of commercial interest. The most

familiar intermetallic in the Ni-AI system is Ni3 AI,
which is also referred to as y' and has a fcc (LIz)
structure, which is the strengthening phase in commercial nickel based superalloys. The compound
exists over a narrow composition range and has a
melting point of 1395C. It can be used in the
temperature range of the superalloys, i.e. up to 1100C,
which is 800/0of the melting point of Ni3AI, so it can
not be expected to extend this temperature range.
The y'-Ni3AI intermetallic is highly ductile in the
form of single crystals but extremely brittle in polycrystalline form and its strength exhibits an anomalous
temperature dependence. The reason for the brittle
behaviour was until recently believed to be intrinsically weak grain boundaries in polycrystalline
y'-Ni3Al.133Early studies on its mechanical behaviour
established that polycrystalline y' - Ni3 Al generally fails
by intergranular fracture with little or no ductility
owing to its intrinsically weak grain boundaries.
However, more recent studies136,l37have shown that
addition of a few parts per million of boron can
dramatically improve ductility by becoming segregated to grain boundaries and improving their
cohesion. Other elements, in particular iron, chromium, and zirconium, can also improve the tensile
ductility of y'-Ni3Al at room temperature.
However, recent studies by George et al.138-142 have
demonstrated that the grain boundaries may be
intrinsically ductile in polycrystalline y'-Ni3AI and
that the cause of room temperature brittleness in
polycrystalline form may be related to environmental
effects, in particular moisture, and to microcracks
introduced during processing. These authors first
reported that the grain boundaries in boron free
y'-Ni3AI containing 0260/0Zr are not intrinsically
brittle, which means that the principal role of boron
in ductilising y'-Ni3AI may be related to the suppression of environmental effects.l38 Room temperature
ductilities of 6-9% in water, 11-13% in air, and
48-51 % in oxygen were observed, indicating that
moisture plays an important role in embrittlement of
grain boundaries. However, the role of zirconium in
ductility has not been investigated. Another study by
Liu143on grain boundary fracture of binary y'-Ni3AI
alloy showed that the elimination of moisture by
testing in dry oxygen does not suppress brittle fracture
and lead to extensive ductility. These authors also
pointed out that boron eliminates environmental
embrittlement and that both boron and zirconium
improve the ductility of y'-Ni3AI (Ref. 139) by
strengthening grain boundaries.
George et al. achieved elongation of 234% in
an equiaxed polycrystalline boron free y'-Ni3AI in
ultrahigh vacuum,140 which is a clear indication
of intrinsic ductility of polycrystalline y'-Ni3Al.
Moreover, the ductility increased systematically with
increasing vacuum. However, the fracture mode was
still intergranular in the absence of moisture and
strengthening would be needed. Other recent work
by George et al.141 showed that boron (when added
in sufficient quantities, i.e. 100 wt-ppm) effectively
suppresses environmental embrittlement in y' - Ni3 Al
both in air and in water. At low boron levels (50 wtppm), boron eliminates environmental embrittlement
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
No.1
only in air. The ductility is strongly strain rate sensitive in water, increasing strain rate alleviating environmental embrittlement. Furthermore, a sufficient
amount of boron changes the fracture mode from
intergranular to transgranular. Cohron et al.142 also
studied the effect of low pressure hydrogen on the
grain boundary brittleness ofy'-Ni3Al. It was reported
that low pressure hydrogen does not embrittle
polycrystalline y' - Ni3 AI, suggesting that molecular
hydrogen does not dissociate very efficiently into
atomic hydrogen on y' - Ni3 Al surfaces. Furthermore,
moisture free hydrogen is not as harmful to the
ductility of y'-Ni3AI as the water vapour in air. It was
also observed that the fracture mode was predominantly transgranular and elongation of more than
400/0 was achieved in the absence of any hydrogen
induced embrittlement. Lee et al.144 also studied the
effect of hydrogen and water pressures in the range
of 10-3-103 Pa on tensile ductilities of undoped and
boron doped y'-Ni3Al. It was reported that boron
doped y'-Ni3AI is insensitive to water vapour, while
undoped y'-Ni3AI is severely embrittled by water
vapour at pressures greater than about 10-3 Pa.
The NiAI intermetallic exists over a much wider
composition range compared with y'-Ni3AI and has
a bcc (B2) structure with a melting temperature of
1638C. The melting point of NiAI is about 300C
above those of the superalloys. It also has a lower
density, a higher elastic modulus, and a higher thermal
conductivity than y'-Ni3Al. Furthermore, it possesses
excellent oxidation resistance. Thus, NiAI has been
regarded as a potential substitute for superalloys for
high temperature applications for more than 40 years.
However, it exhibits low room temperature ductility
and poorer creep performance than the best superalloys. Although some ductility has been achieved by
boron doping, NiAI based polycrystalline alloys with
sufficient room temperature ductility and creep performance are considered to be unlikely.
Joining of nickel aluminides
There has been great interest in the development of

y'-Ni3AI for high temperature engineering applications (including steam and gas turbine components,
diesel engine components, and a variety of structural
components in energy conversion systems) since the
discovery that its yield strength unusually increases
with temperature up to 700C (058 of the melting
temperature), as shown in Fig. 20.145-147The discovery of ductilisation of y' - Ni3 Al has stimulated a
vigorous programme of y' -Ni3 Al alloy development,
including study of hot workability, mechanical
properties, oxidation and corrosion behaviour, and
weldability. The weldability aspect in particular
is considered to be of some commercial value. An
excellent review of the existing data on joining of
nickel aluminides was conducted by Ash et al.148
The first work c'oncerning the weldability of
Ni3 Al + B alloys containing iron 149showed that iron
additions increased susceptibility to fusion zone and
HAZ cracking during autogenous GTA welding. This
susceptibility to cracking in these alloys was attributed to intrinsically weak grain boundaries.
However, later work150 demonstrated that the cracking behaviour was affected by the boron content of
l;am and K09ak
19
60
C'l
I
E
Z 500
~
en
E 50
-e=#:
.q
rJ)
(1)
.t:
~ 30
rJ)
(J)
~ 300
o
CI)
.5
~
4:
~
C'l
40
~
U
100
-200
200
400
600
800
20
10
1000
800
Temperature,OC
20
Temperature dependence of 0'2%

of crystalline y'-Ni3AI (Ref. 147)
flow stress
the alloys (see Fig. 21) and the best cracking resistance
was obtained for a boron content of 002 wt-%.
Increasing boron content above 002 wt% increased
the hot cracking tendency.
It was also found out that the addition
of
107 wt-%Fe (Ref. 151) and 17 wt-%Hf (Ref. 152)
improved the resistance to HAZ cracking. However,
levels above 107 wt-% tended to promote formation
of the fJ- NiAI. There was no clear indication that
intergranular
fJ formation increased cracking tendency, although fJ is usually considered as an undesirable micro constituent owing to its intrinsic brittleness.
Autogenous GTA welds made on as cast y'-Ni3AI
with hafnium additions showed severe HAZ cracking
as a result of hafnium, aluminium, and nickel microsegregations in the original solidification structure. In
contrast, defect free autogenous electron beam and
GTA welds were made on wrought sheet and powder
metallurgy compacts with the same nominal composition as a result of the absence of micro segregation.
More recently, Santella and Sikka 153,154investigated the weldability of cast y' -Ni3 AI based alloys
(IC221 types) containing
7'7%Cr,
l'5A>Mo, and
0-3%Zr
using TIG welding with or without a
3'0 wt-%Zr filler. It was reported that although
increasing zirconium levels reduce the susceptibility
to cracking, most y' -Ni3 AI based alloys exhibit marginal resistance to solidification cracking. Autogenous
welds showed a greater susceptibility to cracking at
lower zirconium levels and the alloys containing low
zirconium levels (i.e. l'5%Zr) could only be welded
crack free by using a high zirconium filler. In work
at TWI,129 electron beam weldability of cast y' - Ni3 Al
alloy was studied. However, the welds contained
significant numbers of solidification
cracks. The
number of cracks was reduced by reducing the welding speed, but it did not eliminate cracking.
Schulson155 has pointed out that the larger the
grains, the higher is the stress concentration factor in
the vicinity of the boundary and the lower is the
applied stress necessary to nucleate a crack. This
implies that the HAZ cracks caused by welding
residual stress would be fewer in number for fine
grained intermetallic
compounds
than for coarse
grained ones. Chen and Chen156 demonstrated
that
the grain size of y'-Ni3AI has an influence on the
resistance to HAZ cracking. They reported that it is
possible to achieve crack free laser welds in y' - Ni3 Al
1000
Boron Content, wt-ppm

21
Effect of boron content on HAZ cracking

tendency in y' -Ni3AI autogeneous
electron
beam welds 150
contaInIng
200 and 500 ppm boron. They also
reported that a grain size of about 20 Jlm or less for
the y' -Ni3 Al containing 200 ppm boron and of less
than 18 Jlm for the y'-Ni3AI containing
500 ppm
boron should be required to obtain weldments free
from HAZ cracking. Although significant weld cracking problems were reported for boron doped y'-Ni3AI
alloys for welding speeds above 13 mm s -1 (Ref.
149), butt welds made with welding speeds up to
356 cm min -1 have been performed by Chen and
Chen156 on fine grained (12-15 Jlm) y'-Ni3AI specimens containing
500 ppm boron. However,
no
mechanical data have been reported.
Molian et al.157 studied the CO2 laser welding of
cast y'-Ni3AI containing boron and observed that
cracking occurred in the fusion zone and HAZ. They
reported that the hardness of the weld zone was
substantially higher than that of the base material,
which was attributed to the highly concentrated heat
input of the laser beam resulting in refinement in the
grain structure in the fusion zone and the HAZ.
However, they also reported that room temperature
tensile properties of the laser beam weldments were
comparable with properties of the base material.
Although some y' - Ni3 Al alloys are readily weldable,
a complex interaction
between hot ductility and
strength determines the weldability of individual
alloys based on material properties and specific welding parameters.
Heat affected zone cracking was
observed in y'-Ni3AI with 10 wt-%Fe and 005 wt-%B
(IC25), which had zero ductility above 800C.
Another y'-Ni3AI based alloy, containing 10 wt-%Fe
and 0'02 wt-%B (IC103), which recovered some ductility at higher temperatures, was not subject to HAZ
cracking. Based on these observations,
the third
y'-Ni3AI based alloy, containing
15 wt-%Hf and
002 wt-%B (IC50), which demonstrated hot ductility
behaviour similar to that of IC25, was expected
likewise to be susceptible to HAZ cracking. However,
this was not the case and was believed to be a result
of the higher thermal conductivity of IC50 leading to
shallower thermal gradients, so that the imposed
thermal stress was less severe and never exceeded the
fracture stress.
A y'-Ni3AI alloy, when suitably processed either to
decrease the severity of thermally induced welding
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
20
r;am and KOfak
Joining
of advanced
materials
30
APD Structure
25
d'
<t:
20
.S 15
.g
s::
~
~
10
"'0
Q)
useful temperature range below 800C, as shown in

Fig. 22.148,158
Recently, linear friction welding of cast y'-Ni3AI
alloy was also studied at TWI.129 However, difficulties
were experienced with cracking of the parent material,
although the weld region was defect free. Cracking
was attributed
to the propagation
of small casting defects under the very aggressive mechanical
vibrations experienced by the material during the
process. Results indicated that the linear friction
welding method has potential for defect free welding
of y'-Ni3AI. Further work is, however, needed to
demonstrate this.
Transient liquid phase diffusion bonding (TLPDB)
has also recently been demonstrated to be a viable
method of joining NiAI based alloys.159,160 Gale and
Orel159 satisfactorily bonded NiAI based alloy using
a Ni-45Si-32B
(wt-%) melt spun ribbon (AWS
Bni-3) interlayer. Strum and Henshall160 bonded
NiAI by depositing pure nickel and aluminium on
two opposing surfaces of a joint by electron beam
evaporation, heating to 800C in vacuum, and then
holding for 4 h at 1200C under a partial pressure of
argon to reduce evaporation losses. Single phase NiAI
was formed across the joint. However, variation in
composition
was not detected and, moreover, no
mechanical data were reported.
1270-0Q
[J 1190-FC
No APD Structure
0
0
22
200
400
600 800 1000 1200 1400

Temperature,OC
Effect of APD structure on hot ductility

Ni3AI + 8 at.%Cr alloy 148,158
of
stresses, limit the zero ductility range, or increase

fracture stress over the range of temperatures encountered in the HAZ, is more resistant to HAZ cracking.
The first of these is most readily accomplished by
using a preheat or post-heat and by increasing the
heat input. Alloying and heat treatment are the only
means of improving ductility and fracture stress.
Chromium additions to y'-Ni3AI alloys have proven
beneficial for both of these latter goals. Work conducted by Edwards et aI.158 has demonstrated
that the
presence of an antiphase domain (APD) structure in
Ni3AI + Cr alloys improves hot ductility and weldability. This APD structure in the alloy containing
8 at.-%Cr can be produced by heating to 1270C and
subsequent oil quenching. The presence of an APD
structure is effective in dispersing slip and reducing
the tendency for intergranular fracture in these alloys,
since this is the fracture mode at higher temperatures.
In this alloy, the ductility can be improved over a
Aluminium
20
10
Physical metallurgy of iron aluminides

The binary Fe- Ni phase diagram is still not well
defined and there are several versions in the literature.
Although a number of intermetallics exist in the Fe-AI
system (Fig. 23), Fe3AI and FeAI are the compounds
of industrial interest. However, the phase boundaries
of Fe3AI and FeAI are not accurately known, since
content,
30
wt.-olo
40
60
50
70
80
90 100
1600
1538 DC
1400
1394 DC
1200
1.95
r-~
(aPe)
tI
.'
1000
~
s0
0..
yFe)
800
FeAI
'-;;;;~k-"'""
Tramformatirn
.'.'
"".,
652C
,I
,I
II
~660.452C
99.1
,I
~Al" /!.
20
Fe
::
Aluminium
Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
.:<::
,I
40
30
:.,..!()I'
(Al)-
Q)
III
III
,'~ "
Fe-AI phase diagram

Materials
200
10
II
,,
,,
i: ar: : ='<
400
International
,I
,I
""
600
23
,I
770 DC
"",t
.'
""
"
""
U2
912 DC
NO.1
50
60
content, at.-%
.,
;:
70
tI
tI
80
90
100
Al
9am and K09ak
700
100
600
80
~ 500
0...
~
..d
bO
~
60
400
cod'
cu
<t:
:-.
.S
r/5
40 .:2
:-. 300
0
t)
"'0
"0
>=
;::j
200
"'0
cu
~
20
Ductility
100
0
200 400 600 800
Temperature, C
24
Hot deformation behaviour of iron aluminide

alloy FA-129 with composition Fe-O'2C-SCr28AI-O'SNb: initial
condition
82 structure
(Ref. 148)
these compounds
have similar crystal structures;
Fe3AI is also an ordered solid solution alloy with a
bcc (D03) structure, whereas FeAI exhibits a bcc (B2)
structure.
Iron based intermetallics have attractive electrical,
magnetic, and corrosion resistance properties. Other
features, such as the low cost of iron and aluminium
and the low density and adequate strength at temperatures below 600C (Fig. 24), make Fe3AI alloys
potential
candidates
for structural
applications.
Furthermore, they do not contain large quantities of
more strategic elements. However, their low ductility
at room temperature,
a sharp reduction in their
strength above 600C, and poor creep performance
impeded their use. Binary Fe3AI alloys have been
found to be susceptible to embrittlement
by water
vapour at room temperature. 161
Iron based intermetallics can be alloyed to improve
room temperature
ductility and it is possible to
produce alloys with reasonable properties. This su?ject has been discussed in detail in a revi~w by ~IU
and Kumar.133 Studies have shown that IncreasIng
the purity of Fe3 Al changes the failure mode from
intergranular to transgranular.162,163 In addition, ternary alloying additions, such as boron, zirconium,
and molybdenum,
improve the ductility of these
alloys.164-168 The room temperature ductility of FeAI
can also be improved by grain refinement (which is
also beneficial to y'-Ni3AI when the grain structure is
stabilised with TiB2 particles). High temperature
properties can also be improved by alloying with
molybdenum,
niobium, zirconium,
titanium,
and
TiB2
Joining of iron aluminides
The weld ability of Fe3AI alloys is very sensitive to
composition
and welding parameters.169 Furthermore, excessive fusion zone and HAZ grain growth,
which can increase cracking sensitivity, has been
observed for Fe3AI GTA weldments.169 Three possible
methods have been suggested for improving cracking
resistance in Fe3 Al weldments:
(i) removal of water vapour from the environment
(which is only a problem in GTA welding)
21
(ii) alloying to decrease yield stress, increase fracture stress, and enhance cross-slip
(iii) refining of slip path length using grain size
refinement or an APD structure.
The weldability of a variety of binary and more
complex Fe3 Al based alloys cont.aining. chromiu~,
niobium, manganese, and boron In vanous combInations, using electron beam and TIG welding, has
been studied by David et ai. 169,170 Of all the alloys
investigated, alloy FA-129 (Fe-15'9AI-5'5Cr-l'ONb0'05C (wt-%)) had the best welding characteristics.170
It was also demonstrated that defect free welds could
be produced in this alloy. High cooling rates created
fine disordered B2 domain structures in both the
HAZ and fusion zone which can result in material
which is more resistant to cracking. Therefore, current
research is focused on correlating the effects of cooling
rate on domain size and cracking resistance.
David and Zacharia171 conducted further welding
studies of Fe3 Al based alloys and reported that a
wide range of compositions could be crack free welded
by using electron beam and TIG welding. The
alloys contain about 55 wt-%Cr, ab?ut 1 wt-%Z~,
001 wt-%B, and 005 wt_%C in four dIfferent combInations. All the alloys studied were demonstrated to
be crack free welded using electron beams. However,
the use of TIG welding always produced cracks at
high travel speeds for all the alloys, even at lower
travel speeds for boron containing alloys. Studies on
the electron beam and TI G welding of Fe3 Al based
alloys (Fe-8AI + Cr (wt-%)) at TWI129 also showed
similar results. Crack free welds were produced by
electron beam welding even without use of a preheat.
It was observed that the weld metal grains grew
epitaxially on HAZ grains and that the fusion zone
grains were equiaxed and much finer than the parent
material grains. Marginally lower hardness values
were observed in the fusion zone (Fig. 25a). Ultimate
tensile strength values of 600 MPa and elongations
of2-4% were obtained at room temperature. Fracture
occurred predominantly
at the weld centreline and
the fracture mode was intergranular. Crack free welds
were also produced by TIG welding (with a travel
speed of 105 mm min -1) without the use of a preheat.
However,
higher travel speeds (120 mm min -1)
resulted in transverse cracks. Microstructures
similar
to those obtained in electron beam welding were
observed. The major differences were the increased
width of the weld when using TIG welding and the
5-10 times larger grain size in the fusion zone. The
increased weld width (wider softened region) is also
seen in the hardness profile of the TIG weld (Fig. 25b).
Ultimate tensile strength values of
550 MPa and
elongations of
70/0 were obtained at room temperature. Failure invariably took place in the fusion zone,
at the centre, and the fracture mode was predominantly intergranular.
Wilson et al.172 also demonstrated
that capacitor
discharge spot welding can successfully be used to
weld Fe-24AI (at.-.lc alloy. However, no detailed
microscopy or mechanical property determinations
were conducted.
Maziasz et al.173 studied the effect of compositional
variations on the TIG weldability of FeAI based
alloys containing 024 at.-%B for room temperature
'"V
'"V
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
22
9am and K09ak

300
280
Joining of metal matrix composites
(a) 0 EB41
EB47
X EB53
260
240
220
If)
C"i
>
::r:
en
en
200
180
-15
-10
ll)
"'d
l=:
H
C\l
-5
10
15
260
(b)
::r:
240 -
220
200
180 160
-15
-10
-5
Distance
10
15
from weld centre, mm
a electron beam welded; b TIG welded
25
Hardness profiles for Fe3AI (Ref. 129)
ductility. They have reported that weldable FeAI

alloys can contain small amounts of molybdenum
and zirconium. However, boron is very detrimental
to weldability of FeAI based alloys, since it causes
hot cracking. It is also not known whether additions
of boron in smaller quantities could be tolerated.
Further work is needed to clarify this aspect.
General comments on nickel and iron base
intermetallics
Ordered intermetallic alloys, such as y'-Ni3AI, NiAI,

Fe3AI, and FeAI have great potential for applications
at elevated temperatures. Some of these alloys can be
successfully welded, while others are prone to cracking
either during or after welding. Many factors, such as
composition and welding parameters and processes,
can play an important role in the we1dability of nickel
and iron aluminides. In a broad sense, the weldability
of nickel and iron aluminides is limited by either
subsolidus or a combination of subsolidus HAZ and
fusion zone cracking. These phenomena are attributed
to inherent low ductility, excessive grain growth, or
environmental embrittling mechanisms. Both microand macroalloying may improve weldability. The role
of APD substructures, which have been shown to
improve hot ductility and weldability in chromium
modified y'-Ni3AI alloys, remains to be investigated
for iron aluminides. Weldability of ductile intermetallics shows great promise, although a full understanding of their welding metallurgy is lacking. There is
also a very limited number of mechanical data
reported in the literature. Further work is needed to
fully understand the welding of these materials.
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
Metal matrix composite (MMC) materials have

attracted great interest in recent years owing to their
superior strength/weight ratios. These materials have
wide fields of potential application as a result of not
only their very high specific strength and elastic
modulus but also their high resistance to elevated
temperature and better wear resistance than
many materials. However, the poor formability of MM Cs, arising from their anisotropic properties
and stiff reinforcement, considerably hinder their
practical application.
A MMC consists of two distinctly different
materials:
(i) the matrix, typically an alloy of aluminium,
titanium, magnesium, copper, iron, etc.
(ii) the reinforcement, a fibre or an intermetallic
compound such as an oxide, carbide, or nitride.
The term MMC is nowadays used to encompass
metal matrix composites reinforced by particles, whiskers, or either continuous or discontinuous fibres, as
well as metal matrix oxide dispersion strengthened
(ODS) materials. Since these groups of materials have
different strengthening mechanisms, the joining phenomena and problems encountered in joining are also
different. Of these groups of materials, fibre reinforced
MMCs are the most difficult to join in general.
The purpose of this section of the review is to
provide brief information on the weldability of ODS
alloys and MMCs, particularly fibre reinforced
MMCs, and the problems involved.
Joining of ODS alloys
Alloying can only improve high temperature properties in a certain usable range of temperatures. Simple
alloys, even those solid solution strengthened and
precipitation hardened, reach the limits of their use
below the requirements of many engineering applications. Oxide dispersion strengthened nickel and
iron based alloys are potential materials to be used
in service at temperatures well above llOOC. In these
materials, the high temperature strength is increased
by introducing a small, stable oxide dispersoid into
the metal matrix (with elongated grain structure providing considerable strength). The fine oxide dispersoids act to pin the dislocation movement in a manner
similar to that in the case of second phases in precipitation hardened alloys.
For example, mechanically alloyed Incoloy alloy
MA 956, which is a ferritic ODS superalloy containing
yttrium oxide (yttria) dispersoid, exhibits excellent
strength and resistance to corrosion at temperatures
up to l260C. Because of the complex nature of the
alloy's structure, joining procedures must be carefully
designed to produce joints with optimum properties
and avoid degradation of the base metal properties.
Excessive weld heating of the ODS alloy can cause
oxide coalescence to the point that the size of the
oxide dispersoid is no longer effective in pinning the
dislocations. Melting, however, diminishes the elongated grain structure and leads to an equiaxed grain
structure, which results in reduced strength.174
Solid state joining processes therefore offer good
potential for successive joining of ODS alloys since
9am and K09ak
melting of the base metal is avoided. Work by Moore

and Glasgow175 has demonstrated that diffusion bonding of a nickel base ODS alloy, Inconel alloy MA 6000,
is feasible. Hammelmann
et al.176 studied hippingdiffusion bonding of ODS materials, namely MA 754,
MA 956, MA 6000, and Incoloy 800H, using plasma
sprayed encapsulation and reported that the correct
choice of hipping parameters
was essential. They
suggested that a maximum temperature of 1050C
must be used to avoid uncontrolled recrystallisation
and recommended
hipping
pressure
ranges
of
150-200 MPa for MA 956 and Incoloy 800H, of
250-350 MPa for MA 754, and of 380-400 MPa for
MA 6000. Use of transient
liquid phase (TLP)
diffusion bonding is also promising in maintaining the
parent alloy microstructure in the joint region. Recent
work has demonstrated
that transient liquid phase
diffusion bonding of ferritic ODS alloys, namely
MA 957, MA 956, and PM 2000, using a novel
amorphous foil based on an Fe-B-Si composition,
can be successfully applied.177 However, the results
showed that success in achieving grain growth across
TLP bonds is not only dependent on the composition
but is also strongly dependent on the recrystallisation
behaviour of individual alloy types, possibly owing to
differences in prior thermomechanical
processing.
Results thus far indicate that solid state welding
processes are excellent candidates for joining ODS
alloys. Since no melting of the base metal is involved,
the problems of grain structure alteration and deslagging of the dispersoid can be avoided. Accordingly,
solid state joints in ODS alloys exhibit properties
superior to those of fusion weldments. Considerable
research has been and continues to be conducted to
define suitable solid state joining procedures for
ODS alloys.
Fusion processes have also been explored for joining
ODS alloys. Gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding is commonly used for joining of sheet metals and, thus, can
be applied to joining of ODS alloys. Both autogenous
and filler metal weldments have been made with alloy
MA 956 sheet. However, it must be remembered that
the alloy is ferritic and, therefore, exhibits a ductilebrittle transition temperature. Consequently, a preheat
of about 200C is recommended. Furthermore, slow
cooling may be required for complex welded structures
to avoid post-weld cracking. Even then, the grain
structure of the weldment becomes equiaxed whereas
that of the base metal is still elongated. In addition,
the dispersoid floats out of the weld area while molten,
e.g. when deslagging. As a result, GTA weldments
exhibit strength well below that of the base metal. In
many cases, design considerations can account for the
lower strength by placing weldments in areas of lower
stress and/or temperature. The GTA welding technique can also be used for applications where corrosion resistance at high temperatures
is required
rather than strength.
Flash butt welding of alloy MA 956 leads to a
weldment structure which is to some extent comparable to that of GTA weldments. In resistance spot
welding of alloy MA 956, grain growth in the weldment in the opposite direction to that of the grain
structure of the base metal occurs, which results in
inferior weld properties. Resistance seam welding
23
results in agglomeration and rejection of the dispersoid

in the weldment and, thus, also leads to inferior weld
properties.
General comments on ODS alloys
Power beam welding processes, such as electron beam
and laser welding, melt a minimum of base metal as
a result of the concentrated heat application in these
processes. Porosity and dispersoid agglomeration can
be significantly reduced and, thus, weldments of better
quality than those produced by other fusion processes
can be realised. Joining of ODS alloys by power
beam processes has not been widely applied so far;
suitable procedures for joining of ODS alloys by
power beam processes as well as diffusion bonding
are yet to be fully established.
Joining of reinforced MMCs
Reinforced MMCs are of very great interest in meeting the demands of high performance structures owing
to their high strength and low density. The lower
manufacturing
cost and ability to shape discontinuously reinforced composites using standard forming
processes such as forging, rolling, and extrusion make
this class of MMC especially attractive for aerospace,
automotive, and electronic applications.
Presently,
suitable powder metallurgy and casting techniques
are available for production of MMCs, however, the
difficulty of joining these materials, particularly fibre
reinforced
MMCs,
has to be overcome.
Fibre
reinforced MMCs which are attractive high performance materials with potentially wide application suffer
especially from the difficulty of joining fibres at the
joint; joining of these popular structural materials is
of paramount importance. To date, extensive work
has been conducted on the joining of fibre reinforced
MMCs, especially the aluminium matrix composites,
whereas work on the joining of other MMCs has
been limited. An excellent review on joining of MMCs
was produced by Ellis.178
An urgent need exists to establish new joining
techniques to produce reliable joints to use the full
potential of fibre reinforced MM Cs.
As pointed out above, fibre reinforced MMCs are
the most difficult to join in general. Taking into
consideration
the nature
of anisotropic
fibre
reinforced MMCs, it is vitally important to prevent
melting (e.g. using solid state diffusion welding) or at
least to minimise the melted region (e.g. using power
beam processes) in order to join these materials
satisfactorily. However, it is now well established that
power beam (i.e. electron beam (EB) and laser beam
(LB)) weld processes run a high risk of causing Al4 C3
formation when welding SiC reinforced aluminium
matrix composites.179
Both the elevated temperature and pressure used
in joining might affect the weld properties. Typical
degradations of MMCs that might take place during
joining are:180
(i) deterioration
of strength at the fibre/matrix
interface owing to formation of brittle phases
at the interface at elevated temperature
(ii) degradation in strength of MMCs owing to
destruction or change in configuration of the
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
24
9am and K09ak
150
Weld interface
140,
&-I.
130
;>
120
en
en
110
::r::
--G-g
a.-s.A
7-A ..
\1
(l,)
s::
100
::r::
90
'"1i:: .- --,_.
As welded
----
80
AfterPBHT
70
60
-50
-30
-10
10
30
50
Distance from contact section, mm

26
Measured hardness profiles in heat affected

zone of friction welded AI/SiC metal matrix
composites in T6 temper condition 181
27
fibre caused by plastic deformation

of the
matrix during the applied force used in the
joining process (Fig. 26)
(iii) poor joint efficiency owing to discontinuity in
the fibre and to the change in configuration of
the fibre in the reaction layer at the bonding
interface (Fig. 27).
Use of conventional fusion welding processes to join
MMCs has a major difficulty caused by the problems
related to porosity and clustering of reinforcing
particles (e.g. SiC) in the weld region. Since solid state
diffusion bonding and friction welding do not involve
melting of the parent plate, they can be considered
to be ideal joining processes for aluminium based
MMCs.
Degradation
of the strength of MMCs owing to
formation
of a brittle phase at the fibre/matrix
interface can be typically experienced in aluminium
matrix composites after heating to a sufficiently high
temperature. For example, brittle AIB2 forms at the
fibre/matrix interface in AI-B composite when it is
heated to a temperature above about 425C, leading
to the deterioration
of strength.183 In a similar
manner, carbon fibres react with the aluminium
matrix in AI-C composite and form brittle Al4 C3 at
the fibre/matrix interface at temperatures above about
575C.184 In order to avoid the reaction between the
fibre and the matrix, fibres are sometimes coated with
carbides such as SiC, TiC, or ZrC. Although these
coatings retard the reaction at the interface, brittle
reaction products will still form after prolonged
heating.
Since plastic deformation
of the matrix causes
destruction or change in configuration of the fibre
leading to deterioration
of joint strength, joining
techniques
requiring
a considerable
amount
of
deformation are not convenient for fibre reinforced
MMCs. Consequently,
possibilities for success are
limited, probably to solid state pressure bonding and
friction welding. However, friction welding might be
successfully applied in the case of an MMC containing
short fibres or oxide particles as the strengthening
phase. Although diffusion bonding can minimise plastic deformation during bonding, significant plastic
deformation at the faying interface is still required to
achieve complete atomic joining. Even this deformaInternational
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
Schematic illustration of discontinuity of fibres

at bonding interface of metal matrix composite
reinforced with fibres 182
tion might cause damage and destruction of the fibre,

leading to degradation of the original properties of
the MMC at the joint.
The possible interfaces developing at the joining
interface of the MMC are fibre/fibre, fibre/matrix,
and matrix/matrix. It is rather easy to generate reactions at the matrix/matrix interface, while difficulties
may sometimes be experienced at the fibre/matrix
interface. However, it is quite difficult to obtain real
bonding at the fibre/fibre interface. As a result of
discontinuity, a decrease in joint efficiency will inevitably occur at the joint interface. The decrease in
joint strength in the case of MMCs strengthened with
long fibres is a considerable problem.
Although diffusion bonding is an essential technique for the primary forming of MMCs, attempts to
use the method for secondary processing have not
produced satisfactory results. All the attempts to join
aluminium matrix MMCs particularly yielded poor
joint efficiency. The large deformation and/or high
temperature required to bond aluminium or aluminium alloy matrix MMCs, to eliminate the effect of
refractory oxide film covering the surface (an effective
diffusion barrier), is responsible for the poor joint
properties. Nevertheless, diffusion bonding of aluminium based MMCs is still possible, in particular by
using appropriate interlayers, which can result in TLP
bonding.
Several attempts have been made to improve the
joinability of aluminium matrix MMCs. For example,
silver plating of the joint surface has been demonstrated as an effective way of improving joint strength.
The diffusion bonding of a 20%B/7093 butt joint
with a doubler of the same material failed by shear
at a tensile stress level in the base material of
240 MPa.185 The effect of surface finishing of the joint
surface on the joint strength was also investigated
and electrolytical
etching of the joining surface
was reported to yield an increase in the joint strength
in A1203/ A1.186
Particular success has been reported with 8090/SiC
MMC187 and this may in part be caused by the effect
of lithium in destabilising the alumina layer. Use of
~am and K09ak
insert metals that form liquid during bonding by

reacting with aluminium matrix MMCs has also been
investigated.186 Among the insert metals investigated
for aluminium matrix MMCs, silver and copper,
which form eutectic by reacting with aluminium at
the bonding temperature, are effective. With a liquidus
temperature
lower than that of aluminium, AI-Si
alloy can also be used as an insert metal, although
the mechanical properties
are generally poor. It
should also be noted that diffusion bonding temperatures are usually at or above solution treatment
temperatures,
and a full post-heat
treatment
is
required to generate optimum properties. Some aluminium MMCs have insufficient hot strength to be
able to withstand diffusion bonding without excessive
deformation,
which is a further limitation on the
flexibility of the process. Nevertheless, diffusion bonding of aluminium matrix MMCs is possible, but not
with all alloys. There is, however, considerable scope
for optimising interlayers to promote TLP bonding.
Resistance welding has been applied mainly to
aluminium matrix MMCs. The heating time in resistance welding can be reduced and hence the reaction
between the matrix and the fibre can be minimised.
Moreover, void or crack formation can normally be
prevented
by
the
pressure
during
welding.
Consequently, if the welding conditions are properly
selected, sufficiently high joining strength can be
obtained with resistance welding. For example, a
resistance welded joint of B/6061 fractured at 900/0
strength of the base material in a shear test.188
It has been reported that capacitor discharge welding can be used for joining of SiC/AI (40 vol.- 0/0SiC
particulate reinforced aluminium).189 Since this welding technique involves an extremely short heating
time of 01 J.lS, the reaction between the matrix and
the fibre can practically be avoided. Microstructural
observations have revealed that the joints produced
with this technique include neither defects, such as
cracks and voids, nor a reaction layer between the
matrix and the fibre. Although the properties of these
joints have not been investigated, this welding technique seems to have great potential for joining
MMCs.
In addition to the problems described above, fusion
welding of MMCs involves:
(i) decomposition or dissolution of fibres at high
temperature during welding
(ii) occurrence of weld cracks and voids owing to
poor wettability between the fibre and the
molten metal.
This does not mean that the appropriate selection of
\velding methods and parameters would not make
feasible application of fusion welding to certain kinds
of MMC. For instance, an aluminium based alumina
particulate reinforced MMC, namely AA 6061 aluminium alloy matrix containing
20 vol.-%Al203
particles, was successfully welded using the gas metal
arc (GMA) process with conventional
16 mm diameter ER 5356 filler alloy.190 It was demonstrated
that alumina does not react with molten aluminium
during GMA welding. However, a post-weld heat
treatment (PWHT) was found to be necessary to
achieve maximum mechanical properties. It has also
been reported that low heat input welding with a
25
wide groove enables 1039/200/oB to be joined successfully,185 although a filler having good wettability with
the fibres is necessary to ensure a sound joint free
from weld defects such as cracks and voids. Another
experimental result has demonstrated that it is possible to successfully join SiC/6061 composite by GTA
welding with the use of 4043 alloy filler.191 A C/AI
composite can also be joined by GTA welding with
the use of 4043 alloy filler.192 However, an SiC/AI
joint made by GTA welding without filler exhibited
lots of voids and cracks owing to gas absorbed in the
base material and poor fluidity of the weld metal. In
order to minimise voids and cracks, degassing of
materials under vacuum before welding and use of
filler metal are recommended.191 In other GTA
and GMA weldability work on a 6061 aluminium
matrix
composite
reinforced
with 25 vol.- 0/0B4C
particles (6061/25 vol.-%B4 Cp), no decrease of fracture strength as a result of GTA welding was
observed.193 It was also reported that the G MA
process produced better quality welds than the GTA
process and that preheating at 93C resulted in a
slower cooling rate and, thus, less porosity in the
GMA weld.
As pointed out above, friction welding might be
successfully applied in the case of an MMC containing
short fibres or oxide particles as the strengthening
phase. Several variants of the technique have been
used to join these materials, such as both inertia and
continuous drive rotary friction welding and linear
friction welding.194 For instance, Bollat195 demonstrated that SiC fibre reinforced aluminium could be
successfully joined to an aluminium alloy by the
inertia welding process. Inertia-friction
welding was
also conducted on a 6061 aluminium matrix MMC
reinforced with 15 vol.-%Al203 particles in the T6
temper condition.196 It was shown that the similar
and dissimilar welds were sound and free from any
discontinuities.
However, the joint properties were
evaluated using simple transverse tensile and bending
tests and the results showed limited ductility of the
weld zones and that failure locations were at or near
the weld interface. A more recent investigation has
also demonstrated that continuous drive friction welding of an SiC particulate reinforced aluminium matrix
MMC is feasible.181 A decrease in the heat affected
zone (HAZ) strength as a result of dissolution of
hardening precipitates within the aluminium matrix
was observed, although full HAZ strength recovery
was achieved by use of an appropriate PWHT, which
involved solution heat treatment at 535C followed
by artificially aging at 160C for 10 h, as shown
in Fig. 26.
Although a sound weld metal free from defects
such as voids or cracks might be obtained by the
above mentioned GMA and GTA welding procedures,
the joint properties of MMCs made by fusion welding
rarely match those of fibre reinforced MMC base
mateial. Joint properties are governed by the weld
metal not strengthened with fibres. Moreover, welding
studies conducted on SiC/AI particulate reinforced
composite
indicate
a problem
of loss of SiC
reinforcement in the fusion zone, with the consequent formation of Al4 C3 rendering the fusion zone
brittle.189,191,197 Figure 28 illustrates
the sharp
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26
l;am and K09ak
250
In another study, the feasibility of laser welding of

continuous fibre reinforced aluminium composites
was investigated.201 The results suggested that a critical output power existed which determined the transition between welding and cutting.
(a)
225
200
175
150
General comments on MMCs
125
100
:>
~
75
50
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
(1)
250
225
(b)
200
175
150
.~
125
100
75
1--E~ri.aJ
50
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
I
5
Distance, mm
a as welded, travel speed 2 m min-1, Ar flowrate 10 L min-';
b after low temperature aging, travel speed 1 m min -\ aged for
24 h at 400F (200C)
28
Variation of hardness in LB welding SiC/2024

{Ref. 197)
increase in the hardness owing to formation of brittle

A14C3.197The welding of SiC reinforced aluminium
matrix MM C must, therefore, be carried out under
conditions of minimal superheating to prevent formation of brittle Al4 C3. Recent investigation has shown
that EB welding is a possible process for improving
joint properties of MMCs, because the fibre free area
is rather narrow. However, the joint efficiency of a
6061/50 vol.-%B joint made by EB welding with
AI-Si filler remained as low as 190/0in the case of a
squire groove butt joint made with one weld from
each side.198
A study by Katayama 199showed that laser beam
welding performed on 15 vol.-%SiCp/2024 at a low
heat input did not produce brittle Al4C3 and did not
alter the distribution of SiC particulates in the fusion
zone. Another investigation of laser welding used
both a continuous wave (CW) CO2 laser and a pulsed
Nd-YAG laser at various travel speeds and energy
inputs to weld an SiC particulate reinforced aluminium matrix MMC (A356 aluminium alloy matrix
reinforced with 15 vol.-%SiC particles).20oThe results
demonstrated that use of laser processing at low
energy inputs and short thermal cycles precluded
dissolution of the SiC reinforcement and subsequent
formation of the deleterious Al4C3 phase. It was also
observed that microstructural phases produced in
pulsed Nd-YAG welds were similar to those produced
in CW CO2 welds except that they were generally
finer.
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
While efficient production and shaping processes for

MMCs have been developed, little fundamental
research has been accomplished on effective joining
methods of MMC materials. Although the joint
efficiencies reported are improving, they still remain
below the level to fully exlpoit the potential of these
materials. It is now widely accepted that thermal
joining processes are more promising for achieving
better joint strength levels, particularly by shortening
the thermal cycle and, hence, the time available for
reactions responsible for degradation of the joint
strength. Moreover, further work is needed as there
is inadequate knowledge of the metallurgical phenomena occurring during joining of these materials
and also very few data are available on the mechanical
properties of the joints or their performance in high
temperature, high wear, or environmentally aggressive
conditions.
Joining of other advances materials

Nickel base superalloys
Superalloys, which are also referred to as high temperature alloys, are used at temperatures of 540C and
above as a result of their excellent high temperature
properties. Outstanding properties of these alloys
include:
(i) high strength at elevated temperatures
(ii) resistance to environmental attack, including
nitridation, carbonisation, oxidation, and
sulphidation
(iii) excellent resistance to creep, creep rupture
strength, toughness, and metallurgical stability
(iv) useful thermal expansion characteristics
(v) resistance to thermal fatigue and corrosion.
Although there is intensive research and development
activity to replace nickel base superalloys with lighter
materials, they are still widely used for many applications in aerospace industry. Nickel base superalloys
possess superior high temperature properties, but they
have the disadvantage of relatively high density.
Superalloys comprise solid solution strengthened and
precipitation hardened nickel, iron, and cobalt base
alloys; the present review only addresses nickel base
superalloys.
Superalloys can be divided into two main groups:
(i) solid solution strengthened alloys
(ii) precipitation hardened alloys.
Both the solid solution and the precipitation hardening groups of alloys are typically austenitic (fcc phase,
often referred to as y). Cobalt, iron, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, and tantalum are all solid solution
hardeners in nickel base alloys, whereas chromium
and molybdenum are the main solid solution hardeners in iron base superalloys. The atomic diameters
of these elements differ from that of nickel by 1-130/0.
Lattice expansion owing to atomic diameter oversize
r;am and K09ak
(size factor) can be related to the hardening observed.

Above O'6Tm, which is the range of high temperature
creep where Tm is the melting temperature, diffusional
processes
determine
the deformation
and slow
diffusion elements such as molybdenum and tungsten
are the most effective solid solution strengtheners in
nickel base superalloys.
The precipitation hardening alloys contain a second
phase, y'-Ni3(AI,Ti), which is produced by means of
controlled heat treatment. Dispersion of this second
phase is achieved by additions of aluminium, titanium,
and niobium. Precipitation of y'-Ni3(AI,Ti), which is
the principal strengthening phase in many nickel and
Ni-Fe base superalloys, in a nickel matrix provides
significant strengthening to the material. This unique
intermetallic phase has an fcc structure similar to that
of the matrix and a lattice constant having 1% or
less mismatch with the lattice constant of the y matrix.
Such close matching results in low surface energy
and, therefore, provides long term stability. The y'
phase imparts great stiffness to these alloys at room
temperature and up to the upper limit of their aging
temperature
ranges. Strengthening
of alloys by y'
precipitation
is a function of y' particle size. The
hardness of the alloy increases with particle size
growth, which is a function of temperature
and
time. The volume percentage of y' precipitated
is
also important because high temperature
strength
increases with the amount of the phase present. The
amount of y' formed is a function of the hardener
content of the alloy; aluminium, titanium, niobium,
and tantalum are strong y' formers. However, it
should be remembered that these materials lose their
strength rapidly when held at service temperatures
above their aging ranges as a result of the agglomeration of their second phases. This condition, commonly referred to as overaging, results in relatively
large y' particles. In order to retard coarsening,
alloying elements (which increase the volume percentage of y') or high partitioning, slow diffusing elements
such as niobium or tantalum (which provide for the
formation of the desired precipitate) can be added.
Moreover, the y' phase can transform to other
Ni3X precipitates if the alloy is supersaturated
in
titanium, niobium, or tantalum. Titanium rich metastable y' can transform to Ni3 Ti or an hcp 11 phase.
Formation of '7 phase, which is found in iron, cobalt,
and nickel base superalloys with high titanium/aluminium ratios after extended exposure, can alter
mechanical properties. Excessive niobium content
results in metastable 11 transforming to y" (a body
centred tetragonal
phase which is the principal
strengthening phase in Inconel 718) and ultimately to
the equilibrium Ni3Nb phase (an orthorhombic phase
observed in overaged Inconel 718). Both y' and y" can
be present at peak hardness, whereas transformation
to the coarse, elongated orthorhombic Ni3 Nb results
in a decrease in hardness. The types of phases precipitated are functions of alloy chemistry and heat treatments before service or the temperature-time
exposure
in application.
Carbide strengthening
is another strengthening
mechanism in superalloys. Nickel is not a carbide
former itself. Carbides are formed by reaction of
carbon with alloying elements in nickel; the carbides
27
most frequently found in nickel base alloys are M C,

M6C, M7C3, and M23C6 (where M is the metallic
carbide forming element or elements).
Normally, MC is a large blocky carbide, random in
distribution, and generally not desired. The M6 C carbides are also blocky; formed in grain boundaries they
can be used to control grain size, but precipitated in a
WidmansHitten pattern throughout the grain they can
reduce ductility and rupture life. Predominantly
Cr7C3, M7C3 carbides form intergranularly
and are
beneficial if precipitated as discrete particles. They can
cause embrittlement
if they agglomerate,
forming
continuous grain boundary films. This condition will
occur over an extended period of time at high temperatures. The M23 C6 carbides usually tend to precipitate
as discrete particles at grain boundaries and are influential in determining the mechanical properties of
nickel base alloys, e.g. enhancing rupture properties.
Desired carbide structures and morphologies can
be attained by heat treatment. The alloy chemistry, its
prior processing history, and the heat treatment given
to the material all influence carbide precipitation and
ultimately performance of the alloy.
Physical metallurgy of nickel base superalloys
Most solid solution (non-precipitation
hardening)
non-ferrous alloys exhibit sufficient ductility in the as
welded condition. These materials, e.g. Incone1 625,
can readily be joined using conventional
welding
processes. The GTA welding procedure for nickel
based superalloys is already established and commonly used in industry; there is more extensive experience of GTA welding Inconel 625 than titanium and
such alloys usually do not require pre-weld or postweld heat treatments.
Resistance heated diffusion
bonding is, however, unsuitable for joining Incone1
625 plates owing to the rapid formation of an oxide
film at the bonding interface.
The potential problem in welding these alloys is
grain size. As grain size of material increases, weldability decreases, although larger grain sizes are generally required for better creep properties. Therefore, a
minimum grain size is specified for maximum creep
resistance in some applications. The compromise normally implemented is to limit welding processes to
those methods that use lower heat input such as LB
and EB welding.
For precipitation
hardenable alloys, the thermal
cycle(s) introduced by the welding process can significantly alter the microstructure
of the base material
in the weld region, thus markedly influencing their
properties. The heating cycle involved in welding can
result in the solutionising of age hardening constituents (base metal degradation) which will reduce the
strength of the material. Temperatures
in regions
immediately next to the fusion zone will reach and
exceed the recrystallisation
temperature, resulting in
grain growth and elimination of the retained strain
energy from thermomechanical
processing.
Such
effects can significantly alter the properties of the
weldment. These alloys are usually welded in the
annealed (or solution treated) condition and are subsequently aged to precipitate the second phase.
The physical metallurgy of precipitation hardenable
nickel base superalloys that affects we1dability is,
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
28
r;am and Kor;ak
however, centred on the precipitates used for age

hardening (y' and y") and those associated with solidification and solidification segregation (primarily carbides and Laves phases). There are two types of
cracking encountered in welding these alloys, namely
strain age cracking and liquation cracking. Age hardening causes problems "associated with strain age (i.e.
reheat) cracking, whereas carbides and Laves phases
can initiate melting and lead to cracking of grain
boundaries in the HAZ (liquation cracking).
Nickel base superalloys that are strengthened by
y'-Ni3(AI,Ti) precipitates are more prone to strain age
cracking than are those strengthened by y" - Ni3
(AI,Ti,Nb,Mo) precipitates because of the more sluggish reaction of the y" phase. Inconel 718 is strengthened by y" phase and may, therefore, not be extremely
susceptible to strain age cracking. For example, alloy
718 which is hardened by the more sluggish reaction
of the y" phase is not prone to strain age cracking.
However, alloy 718 does have problems when welded
using conventional GTA welding, including microcracking in the HAZ, very poor impact strength in
the fusion zone, poor fusion in the root pass, and
heat to heat variation in weld penetration.
Initially, most of the welding research associated
with nickel base superalloys was carried out on
wrought forms of alloys such as Rene 41, Inconel 718,
Waspaloy, and Inconel X. Several of these findings
for the wrought nickel base superalloys will also apply
for the cast nickel base superalloys. Boucher et al.202
first correlated the grain size of the wrought superalloys to HAZ cracking. They showed that grain sizes
smaller than ASTM 6 would provide resistance
against HAZ microcracks in alloys such as Waspaloy
and 718, but the grain size of investment cast structures can not generally be controlled to such fine
grain sizes. However, aspects such as tramp element
contamination, constitutional liquation of carbides,
and strain age cracking can be applied in some form
to the cast welding metallurgy of the wrought compositions. The original work done by Pease203 regarding
tramp elements such as sulphur, phosphorus, lead,
etc. was excellent and still is a good guide to follow
with respect to cast alloy tramp element limits. The
maximum specification levels for the elements sulphur, phosphorus, oxygen, and nitrogen in cast alloy
718 are 0'005, 0005, 0'002, and 00035 respectively.
Kelly204,20shas evaluated the effect of the tramp
elements on the susceptibility of cast alloy 718 and
Rene 220C to HAZ micro cracking. He reported that
the maximum specification levels are adequate to
prevent HAZ micro cracking.
Strain age cracking was first investigated and
understood for the wrought alloy Rene 41 by Berry
and Hughes, 206,207giving results that can be applied
to cast compositions. They demonstrated that strain
age cracking was an aspect of the y' aging reaction
in the HAZ of weldments. This reaction might occur
during welding or in subsequent heat treatment, but
regardless of the timing. The y' precipitation in the
matrix results in strengthening of the matrix so that
all the solidification strains of the weldment are
transferred to the grain boundaries in the HAZ causing them to fail and form microcracks. Elements
which adversely affect strain age cracking are carbon,
International
Materials Reviews
1998
Vol. 43
NO.1
7I3C
B1900
INIOO
R'IOS
Mar-M-200
AF2-1DA
/Udimet 700
~~
~~..
~
~
~0
Q)
rEf
Astroloy
<
Ti content, wt-%
29
Plot of weldability v. AI and Ti content based

on strain age cracking susceptibility: after
Prager and Shira;208 includes several Ni base
superalloys added by Kelly209
sulphur, and boron. Carbides tend to be initiation

sites, while both sulphur and boron were correlated
with cracking by Berry and Hughes, but no mechanism was determined.
Prager and Shira208 proposed the plot in Fig. 29,
which was modified by Kelly209to include alloys such
as Rene 220C, Inconel 939 and 909, and Rene 108,
which demonstrates that the phenomenon of strain
age cracking is caused by the total Ti + Al content.
As illustrated in Fig. 29, both Waspaloy and Rene 41
fall just below the safe limit and, therefore, require
controlled grain size and special heat treatment for
welding. Several cast nickel base superalloys such as
Inconel 100 and 713C are also included in Fig. 29.
Both titanium and aluminium form y', the nickel base
superalloy strengthening phase that forms rapidly at
certain temperatures. If the total Ti + Al content is
kept below 4 wt_%, strain age cracking problems will
be avoided. The most effective means of preventing
strain age cracking is to overage the material before
welding or to use controlled heating and cooling
cycles for welding and subsequent heat treatment.
Constitutional liquation of phases found in the
HAZ of weldments is another phenomenon that was
first proposed by Pepe and Savage210and later discovered to be active in the liquation reaction of carbides in nickel base superalloys by Duvall and
Owczarski.211 Enrichment of niobium, titanium, and
molybdenum have been reported by several investigators to cause liquation cracking in nickel base
superalloys.211-216This process occurs when phases
that form during solidification, such as Me carbides
and Laves phases, initiate melting in the HAZ during
welding and spread along the grain boundaries. The
melting, often referred to as liquation, occurs as a
result of a reaction between the dissolving precipitate
and the matrix, resulting in liquid grain boundary
films in the HAZ, well away from the fusion zone.
Such a location prevents backfilling and promotes
9am and Kor;ak

liquation cracking. The fact that liquation from precipitates can extend well away from the fusion zone
not only increases the chance of liquation cracking
but also increases the potential length of the crack,
accentuating the stress intensity of the crack. The
liquid film is incapable of absorbing the strain produced as a result of the contraction
of the liquid
metal
in the fusion
zone
during
solidification and therefore causes the grain boundaries it
occupies to separate and form HAZ microcracks.
Such cracking may be termed liquation cracking, hot
cracking, or microfissuring.
Cieslak et a1.217,218 investigated the solidification of
alloy 625, a nickel base alloy containing relatively
little niobium and practically no titanium or aluminium, and reported that this alloy, even with reduced
silicon content but with just 35 wt-%Nb, continued
to have Ni2Nb Laves phase as its terminal solidification phase. This is an indication that the as cast
structures of any nickel base superalloy containing
niobium would be expected to have the Laves phase
present in the HAZ of any weldment, which leads to
a eutectic reaction with the nickel matrix that can
cause HAZ microcracks. Furthermore, before formation of the Laves phase, alloy 625 formed NbC, which
would provide a means of generating a carbide constitutionalliquation
reaction in the absence of the Laves
phase. In fact, MC carbide (NbC) and Laves phase
(Ni2 Nb) were reported to form in the HAZ of Incone1
625 weldments.218 Wlodek219 showed that silicon
stabilises this niobium rich Laves phase. Cieslak220
also reported that for Inconel 625, low niobium
content heats will be less susceptible to hot cracking
than high niobium content heats. It was also reported
that carbon alloying additions to the niobium bearing
alloys promoted the formation of the y-MC (NbC)
constituent at the expense of the y Laves constituent.
Silicon, however, promoted formation of the y Laves
constituent with or without the presence of carbon
and promoted formation of a y-M6C constituent at
low carbon levels.
Additionally, Knorovsky et al.221 have reported
that both the Laves phase and NbC formed in alloy
718 on solidification, while Baeslack et al.222 demonstrated that a Ni2 Ta Laves phase can form in tantalum containing alloys. Duvall et al.211,212identified
carbides in several alloys and Pease203 proposed that
zirconium will form low melting phases in nickel base
alloys. In the alloys containing a total of greater than
4 wt-% Ti + AI, the normal strain age cracking problem reported for wrought alloys would also be a
concern even if liquation cracking is avoided.
Kelly204,209 has reported that boron is the most
influential element in the formation of HAZ microcracks. However, it can not be dispensed with since
it is required in nickel base superalloys for intermediate temperature strength and ductility. It appears that
boron by itself does not rupture the grain boundaries
of the HAZ; however, it is directly involved in an as
yet undefined reaction that prepares the HAZ grain
boundaries to be wet by any low melting constituent
that is present. Until the role of boron in the grain
boundary reactions is well understood, it can only be
cautiously suggested that the lower the boron content
the better the weld ability.
29
Baeslack et al.222 demonstrated that by increasing

the eutectic reaction temperature of the alloy system
the tendency for HAZ micro cracking will be reduced.
For instance, by replacing niobium with tantalum in
alloy 718 the eutectic reaction temperature increases
from 1185 to 1225C.
Other factors, such as large grain size,202,215,223-225
heat
treatment,
and
high
impurity
levels203-205,223,226-232
may also promote HAZ cracking in superalloys. It is also worth noting that HAZ
micro cracking is apparently a function of both the
boron at the grain boundaries and the lowest liquating
temperature phase reaction present in the system. In
the absence of a Laves phase, carbide constitutional
liquation
would determine
HAZ microcracking.
Kelly204 has reported that liquation of carbides in the
HAZ of nickel base superalloy weldments occurs at
higher temperatures
than the Laves phase eutectic
reaction in alloy 718 and it is likely that this would
be valid for other Laves containing alloys.
The welding metallurgy of cast nickel base superalloys is further complicated by the fact that most
castings are heat treated in some manner before
welding to relieve casting stresses. This might lead to
the formation
of low melting temperature
grain
boundary films. For this reason, it is a good rule to
avoid thermal cycles that might lead to liquation, i.e.
application of a lower thermal cycle just sufficient to
relieve casting stresses, or to leave strain age prone
alloys in the solution condition for welding.
Joining of nickel base superalloys
The GTA welding procedure for nickel base alloys is
already established and commonly used in industry.
There is also more extensive experience of GTA
welding Incone1 625 than titanium.
Maak and
Tinkler233 reported that EB welding is a feasible
process for joining thick plates (> 127 mm) of Incone1
625, which is a solid solution alloy. It should be noted
that there is no published LB weld ability study of
Inconel 625. Although it has not been well demonstrated, there is no indication that solid solution
alloys may present any major difficulty in welding by
the LB process. This therefore needs to be investigated.
Welding of precipitation hardenable superalloys is,
however, much more complicated, particularly that
of crack sensitive alloys. In a study of the weldability
of Haynes alloy 242 (a Ni-Mo-Cr
superalloy), it was
reported234 that the hot cracking resistance of alloy
242 based on varestraint testing is better than that of
Inconel 718 and slightly less than that of Carpenter
Custom Age 625 Plus. However, when compared with
other alloys derived from the Ni-Mo-Cr
system,
alloy 242 appears to have one of the lowest hot
cracking resistances.
Mills235,236 has investigated the effect of different
PWHT procedures on the mechanical properties of
Incone1 718 weldments, including tensile strength,
ductility, and fracture toughness. Two different heat
treatment
schedules, conventional
heat treatment
(consisting of annealing for 1 h at 954C, air cooling
to room temperature, followed by aging for 8 h at
718C, furnace cooling to 621C, holding for 18 h,
and air cooling to room temperature) and modified
heat treatment (comprising solution treating for 1 h
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30
r;am and K09ak
at 1093C, cooling to 718C at 55 K h - \ holding for

4 h, cooling to 621C at 55 K h - \ holding for 16 h,
and air cooling to room temperature) have been used
as PWHT. Both heat treatment schedules resulted in
similar tensile properties comparable with base metal
strength and ductility values, whereas the as welded
material displayed lower strength levels and higher
ductilities relative to those observed in the heat
treated welds. However, both heat treatment schedules decreased the fracture toughness KIc of the as
welded material (KIc = 160, 183, and 228 kJ m -2 at
room temperature, 427C, and 538C respectively).
The modified heat treatment produced higher fracture
toughness (KIc = 141, 117, and 100 kJ m -2 at room
temperature, 427C, and 538C respectively) than
the conventional heat treatment (KIc = 21, 32, and
32 kJ m - 2 at room temperature, 427C, and 538C
respectively).
David et al.237,238 have recently studied the weldability of single crystal nickel base superalloys
(PWA 1480). They reported that these alloys exhibit
a propensity for cracking and that crack free welds
could be made over a very narrow range of welding
conditions with a 500C preheat. Furthermore, the
loss of single crystal nature in the weld zone was
encountered, which may degrade the weld properties.
Laser welding (using a pulsed Nd- YAG laser) of
some nickel base superalloys, namely Inconel 600,
718, and 82, has also been investigated.239 No cracking
was observed in Inconel 82, whereas Inconel 600 and
718 did crack. Busch and Kunze240 have, however,
reported crack free weldments of Inconel 718 by both
LB and EB welding processes. The type of laser beam
was not specified.
The y carbide and y Laves eutectics can be suppressed by LB and EB welding processes, owing to
rapid solidification. This was recently demonstrated
for Inconel 718 by Gobbi et al.241,242
Heat affected zone cracking can also be minimised
by optimising welding parameters to reduce the
dimension of the bead nailhead. The use of Nd-YAG
pulsed lasers could prevent microfissuring easily by
producing better bead profiles.241 Power beam (LB
and EB) welding processes can be successfully applied
in conjunction with appropriate metallurgical measures to avoid liquation cracking.
General comments
on nickel base superalloys
Some nickel base alloys, particularly solid solution

alloys, can be successfully welded without difficulty
and precipitation hardenable alloys are prone to
strain age cracking or HAZ liquation. Many factors,
such as composition, grain size, prior heat treatments,
welding parameters, and welding processes, can play
an important role in determining the weldability of
these alloys. For instance, applying a conventional
arc welding process (high heat input), particularly to
a coarse grain material, can frequently result in HAZ
micro- and macrofissures caused by eutectic formation. The weldability of precipitation hardenable
alloys is limited by either strain age cracking (not a
problem when the strengthening phase is y") or HAZ
liquation owing to the presence of carbide and/or
Laves phases.
International
Materials Reviews
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NO.1
Conventional welding processes have been shown

to produce crack free sound joints in several superalloys. Some successes in power beam welding of
superalloys have been reported. However, there is still
a need for further research to obtain a full understanding of the relationship between the welding parameters and the performance of the power beam joints
of these alloys. Evaluation of the mechanical properties of the power beam welds has also not yet been
fully completed for these alloys. Limited data on the
performance of power beam superalloy joints have
been reported.
AI-Li alloys
Aluminium alloys can be divided into two main

groups, namely non-heat treatable and heat treatable.
Non-heat treatable wrought aluminium alloys include
lxxx alloys, 3xxx alloys, 4xxx alloys containing only
silicon, and 5xxx alloys. These alloys can only be
strengthened by solid solution hardening, cold
working, and grain refinement. From the standpoint
of engineering applications, the most important nonheat treatable aluminium alloys are the 5xxx series
alloys. They are used in applications where moderate
strength levels are required, such as in the automotive
industry, for pressure vessels, and in components for
marine and cryogenic service. The relatively high
strength of these alloys is provided by solid solution
hardening from magnesium. More importantly, magnesium promotes work hardening by lowering the
stacking fault energy, thus reducing dynamic recovery.
Heat treatable aluminium alloys exhibit low density
and corrosion resistance and good strength .and
toughness levels. Consequently, they are used in a
wide range of engineering applications, which include
aerospace, transport, shipbuilding, tankage, and
piping industries. The commercial wrought heat treatable aluminium alloys include the 2xxx (AI-Cu or
AI-Cu-Mg), 6xxx (AI-Mg-Si), and 7xxx (AI-Zn-Mg)
series alloys.
The high strength of heat treatable aluminium
alloys is provided by the finely dispersed precipitates
that form during aging heat treatments. For example,
the precipitation sequence in the AI-Cu system starts
with the saturated solid solution developing solute
clusters referred to as GP (copper rich) zones. This is
followed by the formation of transitional (non-equilibrium or metastable) precipitates of approximate
composition Al2 Cu (8' and 8"). The final structure
consists of equilibrium precipitates, e.g. 8 phase
Al2 Cu, which do not contribute to precipitation
strengthening. The GP zones are more resistant to
movement of dislocations through the lattice and
hence are the most effective strengtheners. In practice,
hardening in high strength aluminium alloys is
achieved by a combination of GP zones and relatively
widely spaced, semicoherent or incoherent precipitates. Some alloys in which diffusion is faster age
harden at room temperature (natural aging), whereas
heating to a temperature below the GP zone solvus
line is required for slow diffusing alloys (artificial
aging).
Most of the heat treatable alloys, however, contain
combinations of magnesium with one or more
9am and K09ak
elements,
such as copper,
silicon,
and zinc.
Characteristically, even small additions of magnesium
in conjunction with these elements promote precipitation hardening, e.g. in the AI-Cu-Mg system (2xxx
series) where strengthening is provided by the Al2 Cu
phase and the addition of magnesium intensifies precipitation. Alloys in the 6xxx (AI-Mg-Si) series contain silicon and magnesium approximately
in the
proportions required for formulation of Mg2Si. The
dispersion of particles of the equilibrium 11 phase
(MgZn2) and 'I' precipitates are the main strengtheners in the 7xxx series (AI-Zn-Mg) alloys.
Minor additions
of silver C'" 01 at.- /0) could
enhance the response to age hardening of all aluminium alloys containing magnesium, namely the commercial AI-Mg, AI-Cu-Mg,
and AI-Zn-Mg-Cu
systems. In all these alloys, silver promotes nucleation
of a finely dispersed intermediate
precipitate. For
instance, ",0,1 at.-o/oAg addition to AI-Cu-Mg alloys
can stimulate an improved response to age hardening
over a wide range of compositions.
Recent attention has been directed towards alloys with high
copper/magnesium
ratios in which silver promotes
nucleation of a new precipitate, designated Q, that
forms as finely dispersed plates in the {Ill} matrix
planes. The Q precipitate is generally believed to be
an orthorhombic
form of the equilibrium
phase
phase (AI2Cu) that precipitates in the {100} planes
in the binary AI-Cu system.243
The AI-Li alloys are also heat treatable and capable
of providing
high strength with heat treatment
through the precipitation of TeAl2 CuLi, (j'-AI3 Li, or
S'-AI2CuMg depending on the alloy composition. The
most potent strengthening phase in AI-Li alloys is
T 1-A12CuLi,
which
is
favoured
at
higher
copper/magnesium
ratios, i.e. in alloy 2090. Furthermore, zirconium forms fine Al3 Zr dispersoids which
have the primary role of assisting control of recrystallisation and grain size during casting and hot
working.
A new AI-Li based alloy, Weldalite 049, developed
in the 1980s, was designed to replace alloys 2219 and
2014.244-246 Weldalite 049 is an Al-( 4'0-6'3)Cul'3Li-0'4Ag-0'14Zr
alloy that has extremely high
strength in several tempers because, in part, of the
enhanced precipitation
behaviour
caused by the
Ag + Mg additions. It is significantly stronger than
other aluminium alloys and has a typical longitudinal
T8 tensile yield strength (mean value of more than 22
heats) of over 690 MPa from 1024 x 23 cm extruded
'plate'. This exceptionally high strength in the T8
temper is a result of an ultrafine distribution
of
T1-AI2CuLi platelets, with no (j'-AI3Li present.
Physical metallurgy of aluminium alloys

The present review discusses only physical metallurgy
of heat treatable aluminium alloys and welding of
AI-Li alloys. A majority of heat treatable aluminium
alloys can readily be welded. However, these alloys
possess certain characteristics inherent to all aluminium alloys, such as a tenacious oxide layer, high
thermal conductivity, a high coefficient of thermal
expansion, high reflectivity, solidification shrinkage
almost twice that of ferrous alloys, relatively wide
solidification temperature ranges, a tendency to form
31
low melting constituents, and high solubility of hydrogen when in the molten state. Therefore, some difficulties, namely crack sensitivity, propensity
for
porosity, and strength loss in the weld metal owing
to dissolution of precipitates, can be encountered in
welding of these alloys. Furthermore,
the high
reflectivity of aluminium alloys leads to difficulties in
laser beam welding. These aspects must be considered
before successful welding can be employed.
Crack sensitivity.
Aluminium alloys are sensitive to
weld metal cracking as a result of their large solidification temperature range, high coefficient of thermal
expansion, and large solidification shrinkage. The
weld crack sensitivity of heat treatable aluminium
alloys is particularly of prime concern because of the
greater amounts of alloying additions present in these
alloys, which also exhibit a tendency to form low
melting constituents.
Weld cracking in aluminium alloys may be classified into two main groups based on the mechanism
responsible for cracking and the crack location being
either solidification cracking or liquation cracking.
Solidification cracking occurs within the weld fusion
zone and is caused by solidification
shrinkage.
Liquation cracks, however, occur next to the fusion
zone and are caused by the formation of low melting
constituents. Liquation cracking takes place in precipitation hardenable alloys as a result of the relatively
large amount of alloying additions available to form
eutectic phases. These constituents have low melting
points
and so liquate
(melt) during
welding,
accompanied by tears provided that sufficient stress
is present.247-250 Higher heat input widens the partially melted region and makes it more prone to
tearing. Thus, liquation cracking is not expected to
be of prime concern in power beam welding of
aluminium alloys, which is a low heat input process.
Consequently,
only solidification
cracking is discussed below.
Solidification cracking (hot tearing).
Solidification
cracking or hot tearing is cracking in the fusion zone
caused by the inability of the liquid to support the
strain imposed by solidification shrinkage and thermal stresses.247,251-253 The degree of restraint of
welded assemblies plays an important role in crack
sensitivity by increasing the external stress on the
solidifying weld. Solidification cracking takes place
within the weld fusion zone and is influenced by weld
metal composition,
welding parameters,
and the
aspect ratio of the weld bead.
The crack susceptibility
(castability) index for
AI-Cu-Mg
ternary alloys generated by Pumphrey
and Moore254 in 1948 is normally used to predict the
weldability of aluminium alloys. Crack sensitivity
curves of various binary aluminium systems have also
been experimentally
determined255-26o and can be
used to predict the relative crack sensitivity behaviour
of complex alloy systems. The hot cracking susceptibility of any aluminium alloy in general appears to
be related to its copper and magnesium contents and
may involve any AI-Cu-Mg eutectic.253 Alloys with
high copper and low magnesium contents, e.g. alloy
2219, are readily weldable, as are alloys with low
copper and high magnesium contents, e.g. alloy 5083.
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32
9am and K09ak
However, several high strength, precipitation hardenable aluminium alloys rely on complex alloying
additions (large amounts of both copper and magnesium) to develop the required properties. These
additions dramatically increase weld crack sensitivity,
the most notable examples being alloys 2024
(AI-44Cu-15Mg) and 7075 (AI-56Zn-25Mg16Cu). Moreover, in complex alloy systems, minor
alloying additions of copper or magnesium may dramatically increase crack sensitivity by widening the
temperature range.254,261,262
High heat inputs, such as high currents and slow
welding speeds, contribute to weld solidification
cracking.263 Another factor contributing to hot tearing is the weld metal grain size; weldability of aluminium alloys can be improved by refinement of the weld
metal grain size.264Weld metal grain sizes produced
by power beam welding processes are usually fine as
a result of the rapid cooling involved in these processes. Low heat input power welding processes may
thus reduce weld crack sensitivity.
Cieslak and Fuerschbach265 studied the hot cracking susceptibility of alloy 6061 when welded with
pulsed and continuous wave Nd-YAG lasers. They
reported that pulsed Nd-YAG laser welds are
extremely susceptible to weld metal hot cracking
while continuous Nd- YAG laser welds produce crack
free joints. The susceptibility to hot cracking for
pulsed lasers is attributed to thermally induced stress
gradients from the pulsed energy input. Wittig
et al.266,267 also observed that alloy 2024- T3 Nd- YAG
pulsed laser welds contained severe centreline hot
cracking while a continuous wave Nd-YAG laser
produced sound welds. Kutsuna et al.268 have recently
reported that crack free joints in alloy 2219 can be
readily produced with crossflow type CO2 lasers with
a power of 4 kW at a welding speed of 2 mm min -1.
Crack sensitivity of AI-Li alloys. Most AI-Li alloys
are strengthened by precipitates such as T1-A12CuLi,
which does not require large quantities of both copper
and magnesium. It is therefore predicted that AI-Li
alloys with high and low magnesium contents, e.g.
alloys 2094 and 2090, should not be prone to cracking.
Conversely, alloy 2091, and AI-Li alloy with intermediate amounts of both copper and magnesium,
may exhibit crack sensitivity. Alloy 2319 can be used
as a filler to join both 2090 and Weldalite 049 and
alloy 5356 can be used to join alloy 8090.
Only a few studies aimed at understanding comprehensively the technique and use of welding to join
lightweight AI-Li alloys have been conducted. Cross
et al.251 carried out studies to evaluate the weldability
of high purity AI-Li binary alloys using the varestraint test to assess their susceptibility to hot tearing.
They observed that the susceptibility of an alloy to
hot tearing varies with lithium content and that the
depth of penetration increases with increasing heat
input, as is observed in other aluminium alloys.252
They also found the depth of penetration to increase
with lithium concentration. The increase in penetration was rationalised as being caused by the decrease
in thermal conductivity that accompanies increasing
lithium content. It was observed that the high purity
binary AI-Li alloys are readily weldable and have
International
Materials Reviews
1998
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No.1
good resistance to hot tearing. Namba and San0269

also reported that the susceptibility of AI-47Mg(03-13)Li alloy to hot cracking during GTA welding
is similar to that of alloy 5083, which is quite low.
Hot tearing is cracking in the weld zone caused by
the inability of the liquid to support the strain
imposed by solidification shrinkage.251,252
Although AI-25Li-l2Cu-07Mg-012Zr
alloy
8090 was designed for mechanically fastened applications, several investigations have been performed
to assess its fusion weldability. For example, Gittos270
performed GTA and GMA studies on alloy 8090
using alloy 5556A (a slight modification of 5556),
4043, 2319, and parent alloy fillers. To reduce weldment porosity, the plate surfaces were mechanically
milled before welding and inert gas backing was used.
No hot cracking was observed in the weldments made
with 5556A filler, while hot cracking took place in
the weldments made with the other three fillers. It
was also reported that the inherent hot cracking
susceptibility of alloy 8090 is similar to that of 6082,
which is a hot cracking sensitive alloy. Gittos270
concluded that lithium is not a neutral addition to
AI-Cu-Mg alloys in terms of influencing hot cracking
because its presence changes the normal ranking of
filler alloys compared with their performance in
conventional AI-Cu-Mg alloys.
Edwards and Stoneham271 also performed a weldability study on alloy 8090- T6 using the bead on
plate (i.e. autogenous) Houldcroft test to assess hot
cracking. It was reported that the susceptibility of
alloy 8090 to hot cracking is similar to that of alloy
2014, a hot cracking sensitive alloy. Lippold272investigated the weldability of alloys 2090 and 8090 by
varestraint and Houldcroft tests. He reported that
varestraint test results indicated that alloys 2090 and
8090 are more susceptible to weld solidification cracking than other commercial aluminium alloys, such as
2219, 5083, and 6061. Furthermore, Houldcroft tests
showed that alloy 2090 is more resistant to cracking
than alloys 8090 and 2091. In a recent weldability
study, a trans-varestraint test was used to compare
AI-Li alloys with conventional aluminium alloys.273
Results indicated alloy 2219 to be the most weldable
and alloys 2090 and 2094 to be the least weldable of
those investigated. Skillingberg274 performed GTA
and G MA weldability studies on alloy 8090 and
reported that alloy 8090 was weldable using alloy
1100, 4043, 5356, and parent fillers, although significant hot cracking was observed using alloy 2319. Hot
cracking was also observed in the weldments made
with alloy 5356, but no cracking was observed
in 2090 weldments produced using parent filler.
However, extensive weld development programs246,275-277
have demonstrated that these AI-Li
alloys can readily be welded in practice with little
concern for cracking. For example, Gnanamuthu and
Moores277 successfully demonstrated use of CW CO2
laser welding to join 27 mm thick plates of alloy 8090
without using filler material. No hot tearing was
encountered at speeds up to 952 mm S-l using 5 kW
of laser beam power.
Zacharia et al.278 carried out an investigation to
determine the weldability of alloys 2090 and 2091
(AI-Li-Cu-Mg alloys) by EB welding on 125 mm
9am and K09ak
thick plates. It was observed that these alloys are

susceptible to fusion zone cracking. All the welds
contained about 2-50/0 porosity in the fusion zone,
but this is not considered' to be excessive for EB
welding of aluminium alloys. Results of hot ductility
tests indicated that these alloys are not susceptible to
HAZ cracking, although there was some evidence of
liquation cracks in the HAZ extending from the fusion
zone to the unaffected base metal. However,
Martukanitz et al.279,280 conducted GTA, GMA, and
EB welding studies on alloy 2090- T8E41 using alloy
4047, 4145, 2319, 4043, and 5356 fillers. Either
mechanical milling of 0'08-0'23 mm from the surface
or chemical milling of 004-015 mm from the surface
in a 5 wt-%NaOH aqueous solution at 49C, followed
by desmutting in a chromic-sulphuric acid solution,
was carried out before welding. Only alloy 5356 filler
displayed sufficiently severe hot cracking susceptibility to be considered beyond the limit of commercial
weldability. Sunwoo and Morris281,282conducted EB
welding studies on alloy 2090 and no hot cracking
was reported.
Marsico and Kossowsky283 performed CW CO2
laser beam welding of AI-Li-Cu alloy 2090 (125 mm
thick plates). Although some porosity (about 23%)
was observed in the fusion zone, no solidification
cracking was detected. They reported that the alloy
can be readily laser welded and the laser weldability
of alloy 2090 is claimed to be better than that of most
conventional aluminium alloys because of the lower
thermal conductivity caused by lithium addition.
Malian and Srivatsan284,285also demonstrated that
alloy 2090 (16 mm thick plates) can readily be welded
by CW CO2 laser (with a power level of 16 kW).
They observed no cracking and only a few pores.
Weldalite 049 has also been welded by EB, GTA,
GMA, and variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA)
welding processes. No propensity to hot cracking has
been observed in highly constrained weldments and
experienced welders claim that the alloy welds similarly to alloy 2219.
Kramer et al.244 performed a study to compare
the hot cracking susceptibility of Weldalite 049
containing different copper levels, alloy 2090, and
conventional alloys 2219 and 2014. The Weldalite
049 variants contained nominal 62, 54, and
50 wt-%Cu contents, over which peak strength does
not vary,245 but ductility and toughness increase
with decreasing copper content. Alloy 2014 exhibited
the greatest weld zone hot cracking susceptibility,
followed by alloy 2090. The three Weldalite 049
variants displayed lower hot cracking susceptibility
than alloy 2090, with susceptibility generally decreasing with increasing copper content. Alloy 2219 had
the lowest weld zone hot cracking susceptibility of
the five alloys, while the four AI- Li alloys exhibited
greater resistance to HAZ cracking than both alloys
2219 and 2014.
Webster and Bennett286investigated the weldability
of newly developed high strength-toughness XT
alloys (with proprietary compositions) by the varestraint test and compared the results with those of
commercial AI-Li alloys, including S090 and 2090. It
was reported that the TX alloys display a susceptibility to hot tearing lower than those of alloys S090
33
and 2090 and comparable to the best conventional

aluminium alloys.
Porosity.
The porosity in aluminium weldments is
mainly caused by hydrogen gas entrapped during
solidification, which has appreciable solubility in
molten aluminium and limited solubility in the solid
state. Lithium containing aluminium alloys display a
higher propensity for weld metal porosity,247,287
which has been observed in AI-Li power beam welds
by many researchers.277,283,288-29o
The observed high
tendency to form porosity in AI-Li alloys has generally been attributed to higher initial amounts of
hydrogen in the weld pool as a result of the increased
hydrogen solubility in AI-Li alloys.247,291
In a review of Soviet literature292 it was reported
that weld zone porosity was considered to be a key
problem in welding alloy 01420 by many researchers.293-295The high porosity was attributed to the
surface reactivity of the alloy with ambient moisture
resulting in the formation of lithium compounds such
as Li02, LiOH, Li2C03, and LiN. It was, however,
also reported that a marked drop in porosity in alloy
01420 weldments could be achieved by removing
005 mm from the joint surface before welding.
Pickens et al.296 studied the weldability of the
AI-5Mg-2Li-01Zr 01420 variant using GTA welding
with parent or alloy 5356 filler. Chemical milling of
025 mm in a 300/oNaOH (6'5M) aqueous solution at
50-60C, followed by rinsing in a 300/oHN03 aqueous
solution (4SM), reduced porosity to acceptable levels.
In addition, machining 013 mm from the surface
weldment before welding was equally successful in
reducing porosity. Namba and San0269also observed
weld zone porosity in GTA weldments of AI-47Mg(03-13)Li alloy, although it was reduced by trailing
inert gas shielding, backing inert gas shielding, and
scarfing of 02 mm from the surface before welding.
Gnanamuthu and Moores277 also reported that
chemical milling with 50/0NaOH and 100/oHN03
before CW CO2 laser welding decreased the level of
porosity in alloy S090 weldments (27 mm thick
plates). In more recent work, Whitaker et al.290 also
studied the autogenous laser weldability of alloy 8090
(1-4 mm sheet). Although porosity existed predominantly along the weld centreline, it was reported that
the AI- Li based alloy S090 can be welded using a
CW CO2 laser at speeds in the range 20-120 mm S-l
with power of 15-3S kW.
Pre-weld joint preparation requires special care to
avoid porosity. Thorough removal of mill scale at the
weld joint, by means of dry machining or chemical
milling, is required. Common practice in the welding
of all AI-Li alloys to minimise porosity is to dry
machine ",,025 mm from mating surfaces as well as
top and bottom plate surfaces, 25-50 mm from the
centreline, on both sides of the joint. It is also
considered good practice to weld within a few hours
of machining and to degrease immediately before
welding. It has also been shown that low levels of
oxygen impurity (less than 300 ppm) must be maintained to produce acceptable welds in alloy 2090.197
In addition, when making through thickness welds,
as in a keyhole mode, rearside shielding must be used
to prevent excessive oxidation and thus porosity.
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1998
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NO.1
34
9am and KOfak
lID
150
~ weld centre
C"'l
100
;> 125
::c:
U
~
::c:
rI:l
90
(JJ~
(JJ
CI)
H
80
,.q
(JJ
""c:l
~
::c:
H
U
70
60
50
25
6061-T6
o 5456-H116
o 2219-T87
50
-10 -8 -6
-4
-2
10 12
Position across weld, mm
31
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
Distance from weld, cm
75
CI)
s:1
100
s:1
""c:l
Hardness traverse
joints
of EB welded
alloy 6061
alloys. At higher temperatures, which are experienced

close to the fusion zone, particles are dissolved into
solid solution and on cooling may precipitate as
strengthening phases. This contributes to the slight
increase
in hardness that typically occurs near the
Katayama et al.289 evaluated the weldability of
fusion zone for 6xxx series alloys.
alloy 2090 using a CW CO2 laser. They reported that
The extent of base metal degradation is determined
the welding tendency of alloy 2090 was good, but
by the welding process and parameters.247,303Convensome porosity in the upper part of fusion zones was
tional arc welding processes involve the application
observed. No mechanical data were reported.
of 103-104 W cm - 2 arc intensity and slow weld speeds
274
Skillingberg
also reported that alloy 2090 weld(< 15 mm s-1 ) which lead to excessive heat input into
ments generally displayed higher porosity levels than
the base metal, thus resulting in a coarse weld micro8090 weldments, particularly the 2090-5356 GMA
structure and a wide HAZ. Weld metal degradation
weldment. However, Molian and Srivatsan284,285
in the HAZ (HAZ degradation) of heat treatable
reported that only a few pores occurred at the
alloys is therefore of prime concern in arc welding.
weld/base material interface of CW CO2 laser beam
In contrast to non-heat treatable alloys, heat treatable
weldments of alloy 2090 (1'6 mm thick plate) and the
alloys can fortunately be post-weld heat treated to
degree of porosity of the laser weld seemed to be
recover the strength of the HAZ.
unaffected by the depth of penetration.
The HAZ degradation is not expected to be a
Base metal HAZ degradation. For heat treatable alumajor problem with power beam weld methods such
minium alloys, base metal degradation in the HAZ is
as EB and LB welding, which involve low heat input.
another problem encountered in arc welding. The
These processes are promising for achieving higher
HAZ degradation is distinguished by dissolution
strength in precipitation hardenable alloy weldments.
(2xxx alloys) or growth of precipitates (6xxx
However, loss of strengthening elements during weldalloys)?47,298-300Although different in nature, the
ing may occur in the fusion zone. Cieslak and
processes are all diffusion controlled and thermally
Fuerschbach265 reported magnesium evaporation
301
during both continuous and pulsed Nd-YAG laser
activated.
A common method of determining the width and
welding of alloy 6061, which is a function of welding
extent of the HAZ is to measure the hardness across
parameters (particularly travel speed for continuous
it. Figure 30 shows hardness profiles for GTA welds
laser welds). The hardness of alloy 6061 welds was
of two common heat treatable alloys, 2219- T87 and
affected by the magnesium vaporisation such that
6061- T6, and, for comparison, for the work hardenbase metal strengths could not be achieved by subable alloy 5456-HI16.247 In the case of alloy
sequent heat treatment to the T6 condition owing to
a reduced ability of the alloy to precipitation harden
2219- T87, dissolution of precipitates occurs when
temperature exceeds the solvus lines of respective
as a result of a lower magnesium concentration. The
precipitates. At positions close to the fusion zone,
reduced strength in the fusion zone caused by loss of
higher temperatures are experienced and greater disstrengthening elements can, however, be restored by
solution of the strengthening phase occurs.
using filler metal.
Consequently, a continual decrease in strength from
Figure 31 shows the hardness traverse of an EB
base metal towards the weld metal is typical of AI-Cu
welded alloy 6061 joint. In contrast to conventional
alloys (Fig. 30).247For alloy 6061- T6, transformation
fusion welding processes where the lowest hardness
of precipitates proceeds at the greatest rate when
values are exhibited by the overaged region in the
temperature is between 290 and 425C.247,298,300,302 HAZ (Fig. 30), the lowest hardness values are
The minimum hardness value for alloy 6061-T6 in
obtained in the weld metal of power beam welds
(Fig. 31). The extent of the weld zone, i.e. the fusion
Fig. 30 represents the position in the HAZ which
experiences temperatures within this range. This minizone and HAZ, produced by power beam processes
is much smaller than that produced by conventional
mum is also referred to as the overaged zone for these
30
Hardness profiles across HAZ of GTA welds on

3'2 mm
thick
2219-T87, 5456-H116, and
6061-T6 produced using constant heat input247
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9am and Ko(}ak
fusion welding procedures. The local hardness minimum in the overaged region of the HAZ is also
present in power beam welds, but it lies between the
hardness values of the base metal and the fusion zone,
which exhibits the absolute hardness minimum. This
problem can be overcome by using proper welding
parameters and filler wire.
Zacharia et al.278 observed softening in the HAZ
of alloy 2090 EB welds (12'5 mm thick plate), but
after post-weld aging (at 190C for 16 h) the HAZ
strength was restored to the same level as the base
metal. No such softened zone was observed in the
HAZ of alloy 2091 EB welds owing to the alloy's
ability to age naturally at room temperature after
welding. However, lithium depletion269,296 as well as
loss of other elements in the fusion zone during
welding may result in softening of the weldments in
the weld region, rendering the fusion zone the weakest
part. Marsico
and Kossowsky,283 for example,
reported that alloy 2090 weldments manufactured
using CO2 laser beam welding on 1,25 mm thick plate
were not particularly strong, with the best transverse
weldment strength being about 217 MPa.
Weld properties
When comparing weld properties of AI-Li alloys, the
welding procedure used, autogenous welding or welding with filler, should be taken into account since
these two procedures lead to different properties
owing to different weld compositions.
Joint strength.
As pointed out above, metallurgical
transformations
in the HAZ of heat treatable alloys
during arc welding lead to degradation of strength in
this region. Post-weld solution treating and aging
provides the greatest improvement in joint strength,
but this practice involves use of water quenching
which may result in distortion. Post-weld aging, which
is carried out at lower temperatures, provides moderate recovery of joint strength and does not require
water quenching.
An alternative method for increasing the weld
strength of heat treatable alloys (i.e. alloys 2024, 2219,
6061, and 7020) is to weld them in the solution heat
treated temper (T4) condition and age them after
welding. To accomplish this effectively, a welding
procedure that keeps the heat input relatively low
and short in duration, such as EB or LB welding,
should be employed.302,304,305
The tensile properties of many wrought AI-Li
alloys are exceptionally high compared with those of
commercial aluminium alloys. However, the strength
of the welded joints in these alloys is limited by the
strength of the solidified weld metal. Even though
joint strengths are higher than those obtained in
conventional aluminium alloys, joint efficiencies of
the order of 500/0 are to be expected for high strength
AI-Li alloys.
Al-Mg-Li
alloys.
Kamada et al.306 reported that
AI-4Mg-ILi
alloy is fusion weldable with alloy 5356
filler, but joint properties were not given. Namba and
San0269 investigated the weld ability of AI-4'7Mg(0'3-1'3)Li by GTA and EB welding processes and
reported that the lithium content of the weld bead
was lower than that of the parent material and
suggested that by using a lithium containing filler the
35
lithium content of the weld zone is restored, thus

increasing its strength.
Additionally, Saida and Matsumot0307 performed
GMA welding of AI-Mg-Li alloys for a fusion reactor
vessel application using alloy 5356 filler and reported
that the weldments displayed high tensile strengths
(up to 295 MPa, which is equal to that of the best
AI-Mg alloys) and excellent elongations.
Alloy 01420.
Mironenko et al.293,308 carried out a
detailed investigation to evaluate the fusion weldability of alloy 01420 and found it to have 'good
weldability'. They also found that filler materials
containing various amounts of manganese, titanium,
zirconium, or chromium provided stronger joints than
those produced
by the parent
filler material.
Fridlyander309 reported joint efficiencies (i.e. strength
of the weld divided by strength of the parent material)
of 70% without PWHT and as high as 995.lc> after
PWHT, i.e. resolutionising, air cooling, and artificial
aging. Joint efficiencies of 80.lc> for GTA welding were
obtained for welds that received no PWHT using an
AI-6'3Mg-0'5Mn-0'2Zr
filler alloy. It was also
reported that with re-solution heat treatment, i.e.
quenching and artificial aging, joint efficiencies of
100% were obtained.292
Pickens et al.296 also reported that alloy 01420
weldments exhibited tensile strengths as high as
272 MPa without PWHT and as high as 363 MPa
with heat treatment. The joint efficiencies of up to
85% obtained were slightly lower than those reported
in the Soviet literature. Softening of the weld bead
with respect to the base materials was attributed to
the effects of lithium depletion in the weld bead when
using base material filler coupled with microstructural
coarsening.
Alloy 2090.
Martukanitz
et al.279,28o determined
joint properties of alloy 2090 GTA and EB weldments.
They reported that re-solution heat treating, quenching, and artificial aging of the GTA weldments produced a tensile strength of 386 MPa, but fracture was
brittle with no measurable ductility. Autogenous EB
weldments (as welded) displayed a tensile strength as
high as 322 MPa and the same PWHT increased
weldment tensile strength to 413 MPa, but no elongation was measured.
Skillingberg274 manufactured
alloy 2090 GMA
weldments using both parent and alloy 5356 filler
and 8090 weldments using 4043 filler. It was reported
that the strengths of the alloy 2090 weldments were
lower than those of the 8090 weldments. The highest
as welded strength for 2090 was 253 MPa, obtained
using 5356 filler, whereas the highest for 8090 was
301 MPa, obtained using 4043 filler material.
Gaw310 also reported a welding study on alloys
2090 and 8090, although the details of this study are
included in a US Government report dissemination
of which is restricted. As welded tensile properties of
the weldments that were made using the thinner sheet
were significantly stronger than those reported by
Martukanitz et al.279,28o or Skillingberg.274 However,
the weldments made using thicker materials were not
as strong.
Sunwoo and Morris281 also determined
joint
strengths of alloy 2090 GTA and EB weldments.
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9am and Kor;ak
Joints in the as welded condition exhibited low

strength levels (less than 200 MPa) but good ductility
(greater than 4% elongation) as a result of dissolution
of strengthening precipitates. The highest strength
levels of EB and GTA weldments reported were
obtained by aging at 160C for 32 h with 750/0joint
efficiency and at 190C for 16 h with 650/0 joint
efficiency respectively. It was also reported that aging
at higher temperatures (230C) leads to coarsening of
precipitates and intermetallic constituents, deterioration of weldment strengths, and improvement of
elongations. The best overall weldment properties are
obtained in the solution treated and aged conditions,
owing to a homogeneous distribution of strengthening
precipita tes.
In addition, Sunwoo and Morris282 performed a
study to characterise precipitation development in
EB and GTA fusion zones of alloy 2090 and its effect
on weldment properties. They reported that both EB
and GTA fusion zones lack the strength and ductility
of the base metal because of the low volume fraction
and inhomogeneity of the strengthening precipitates.
They also pointed out that the weld strength is
primarily determined by the distribution of b'-AI3Li
in the as welded condition. In the underaged condition, the primary strengthener is the b' phase and
even in the overaged condition the volume fraction
of Ti-A12CuLi is still too low for it to be an effective
strengthener. The EB welds display better overall
properties than the GTA welds; joint efficiencies after
aging at 170C for 32 h (designated T8) were 750/0
and 550/0respectively.
Marsico and Kossowsky288 also performed a laser
weldability study on AI-Li alloy 2090. However, the
autogenous weldments were not particularly strong
and the best transverse weldment strength was about
217 MPa.
More recently, Molian and Srivatsan284,285welded
AI-Li-Cu alloy 2090 (1'6 mm thick plates) with a
CW CO2 laser. They obtained tensile joint efficiencies
of 550/0without any surface preparation work on the
as received material. After mechanical milling of
0127 mm from both surfaces, the tensile joint
efficienciesincreased to as high as 830/0.These authors
also reported that the hardness levels of the laser
welds were consistent and unaffected by the presence
of various microstructural features resulting from
welding. They also compared joint efficiencies of EB
and LB weldments with those from conventional
processes and reported that LB welding provides the
best results, owing to the small HAZ and fine structures in the weld zone.
Edwards and Stoneham271 fabricated
alloy 8090- T6 autogenous EB weldments and GTA
weldments using parent and AI-5Mg fillers. The
highest alloy 8090joint strengths (in GTA weldments),
311 MPa tensile strength in the as welded condition
and 367 MPa after T6 temper of the weldment, were
obtained using parent filler. The results are consistent
with those of Gittos,270 but no mechanical data on
the EB weldments were reported.
Wilner311 also investigated the weldability of alloy
8090, but the applications, welding parameters, and
weldment properties investigated are proprietary.
Alloy 8090.
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Nevertheless, he indicated that a weldment tensile

strength design specification of 288 MPa is attainable
with proper welding procedures using an AI-Mg filler,
zirconium modified NG-61. The composition of the
filler was not disclosed.
Skillingberg274has produced GTA and GMA weldments on alloy 8090 using alloy 1100, 4043, 5356, and
parent fillers. The highest as welded tensile strength
of 301 MPa was that of the weldment made with
alloy 4043 filler, whereas re-solution heat treatment,
quenching, and artificial aging of the weldments made
with parent filler produced a highest tensile strength
of 447 MPa, which was 85% of the parent properties.
The toughness of weldments was also assessed by
Charpy impact testing. Toughness data were scattered, but the alloy 5356 filler produced the highest
values.
Although it appears that alloy 8090 is susceptible
to hot cracking, quality weldments can be made with
proper care. The alloy produces high weldment
strengths with alloy 4043, 5356, 5556, and parent fillers.
Weldalite 049. Weldalite 049 has been welded using
the GTA process with ER 2319 and parent filler
wire.245 Tensile strengths of these weldments were
reported to be as high as those of the strongest of
welded conventional aluminium alloys, e.g. 310 MPa
for alloy 7039 and 275 MPa for 2219. Crossweld
tensile strengths of more than 340 MPa could be
attained in the as welded condition.
A preliminary EB welding study by Pickens3i2 was
performed in conjunction with welds at TWI,
Cambridge, UK. It was reported that the as welded
yield strengths were extremely high (e.g. 417 MPa)
and that weldment tensile strengths were in the range
430-434 MPa.3i3 After re-solution heat treatment,
quenching, and artificial aging, an extremely high
apparent yield strength of 527 MPa was obtained.
It was also reported by Pickens3i2 that both manual
and automatic GTA weldments have been made on
102 x 06 or 102 x 095 cm extruded plate using alloy
2319 filler. After some weld parameter development,
weldments having extremely low porosity and high
strength were obtained. These strengths are significantly higher than those typically obtained with alloy
2219 using 2319 filler, the parent-filler combination
the alloy was designed to replace. Commercial alloy
2219 VPPA welded with 2319 filler is the standard
weldment used to fabricate the external fuel tank
of the Space Shuttle. Shah et al.3i4 and Hackett
and MacFarlane3i5 reported successful joining of
Weldalite 049 by a VPPA process using alloy 2319
filler. The Weldalite 049-2319 weld was found to be
stronger than the 2219-2319 weld.
Table 1 gives mean tensile properties for alloy 2090,
alloy 8090, and Weldalite 049 arc weldments and for
some conventional aluminium alloy arc weldments.
Table 2 gives a comparison of various arc weldment
and EB weldment properties for some AI-Li alloys,
taken from numerous sQurces. Alloy 2094 is found to
have the highest joint strength (372 MPa ultimate
strength after VPAA welding and 434 MPa ultimate
strength after EB welding), which corresponds to a
38-610/0 improvement in joint efficiency over alloy
2219 weldments with 269 MPa ultimate strength.275
9am and K09ak

Table 1
37
Mean tensile properties of alloy 2090, alloy 8090, Weldalite 049, and some commercial AI alloy
arc weldments247
Ultimate
Filler
Welding
Weld
thickness,
mm
Base metal
metal
process
2219
2219
2219
2219-T851
2090
2090
2090-T81
2319
049
049
2319
2319
049
2319
VPPA*
VPPA*
VPPA*
2090-T4
2090-T81
2319
2319
7017-T6
AI-5Mg
9'5
9'5
5'8
13
VPPA*
VPPA*
GMA
GMA
GMA
6'5
13
13
13
AI
8090-T6
8090-T6
8090-T6
AI-5Si
AI-5Mg
AI-5Mg
8090-T6
AI-5Mg
(+Zr)
8090-T6
8090-T6
8090
8090
049
049
049
2319
049
049
VPPA*
VPPA*
VPPA*
9'5
049
049
049
049
049
049
049
VPPA
VPPA
VPPA
9'5
9'5
9'5
95
9'5
9'5
VPPA
Yield
strength,
Elongation,
Heat treatment
Test temperature
MPa
MPa
25mm
50mm
As welded
As welded
As welded
As welded
As welded
As welded
As welded
Post-weld aged
Post-weld solution
treated and aged
Naturally aged
for 30 days
Room temperature
273
7'9
Room
Room
Room
Room
temperature
temperature
temperature
temperature
283
325
140
154
161
185
156
4'6
4'7
Room
Room
Room
Room
As welded
As welded
As welded
8090-T6
049
tensile
strength,
7'1
9'0
5'0
5'0
4'7
temperature
temperature
temperature
temperature
300
252
285
232
258
386
147
204t
...H
...H
3'8
5'2
0
0
Room temperature
340
220
8'0
Room temperature
Room temperature
165
205
228
137
5'0
3'0
8'6
7'1
As welded
Room temperature
Room temperature
302
165
176
245
+ T6 temper
As welded
Room temperature
235
183
4'0
285
315
2'0
4'0
As welded
Room temperature
310
As welded
+ T6 temper
As welded
As welded
Naturally aged
for 800 h
Room temperature
367
As welded
As welded
As welded
As welded
Room temperature
Room temperature
Room temperature
Room temperature
175C
-195C
-253C
274
315
372
372
287
413
505
4'0
4'0
248
249
290
1'5
1'5
3'0
290
188
360
427
3'0
5'4
1'9
17
1'0
1'5
* Square butt weldments, all fractures occurred in the HAZ.

t Failure occurred through the weld fusion zone or at the interface.
:f: Failure occurred
before reaching 0'2% offset, indicating nil elongation.
Weldments of extruded plate, 100 x 9'5 mm.
Ductility.
Welds in heat treatable alloys do not
generally exhibit as high ductility as those in nonheat treatable
alloys. Moreover,
PWHT usually
decreases weld ductility further.
If the weld metal has significantly lower strength
than the base metal (undermatching),
most of the
strain will be concentrated in the weld metal in a
transverse tensile test. This is particularly the case for
high strength aluminium alloys. Typically, joint ductility measured over a 50 mm gauge length will be
2-40/0 even though the actual weld metal ductility
Table 2
Alloy and
temper
Transverse properties for arc and EB

welded AI-Li weldments in as welded
condition247
Filler
Welding
condition
metal
process
01420-T6
5356
2319
2319
2319
GTA
GTA
VPPA
5356
5356
5356
GTA
VPPA
2090-T8
2090-T8
2090-T8
2090-T8
8090-T8
8090-T8
8090-T8
8090-T6
2094-T8
2094-T8
2094-T8
2094-T8
2319
2319
2319
GMA
EB
GMA
EB
GTA
VPPA
GMA
EB
Yield
strength,
MPa
103
165
165
207
179
193
186
Ultimate
tensile
strength,
MPa
241
248
283
234
324
310
296
276
317
352
269
Ref.
296
316
275
279
279
316
316
274
317
318
372
319
283
434
318
320
approaches
10-12%. Tensile elongations of AI-Li
alloy arc weldments are given in Table 1.
No tensile ductility data have been reported for
power beam welds of heat treatable alloys, although
it is expected that tensile ductility will be low,
especially
for high strength
aluminium
alloys.
However, this does not mean that the weld metal is
intolerably brittle. The low ductility is a result of the
very small thickness of the weld metal which
undergoes plastic deformation in the transverse tensile
test. The level of ductility achieved in such tests is
strongly dependent on the size of the 'gauge length'
used in the specimen. Acceptable tensile ductilities
can be obtained provided that the strength of the
joints can be improved.
General comments on fusion welding of
AI-Li alloys
There has been great progress in the joining of AI-Li
alloys. However, since AI-Li alloys are being considered for use in welded structures, further research
efforts must be directed towards assessing the weldability of these alloys under a variety of conditions.
Current fusion welding processes involve application
of 103-104 W cm -2 arc intensity and slow weld speeds
of < 15 mm s - \ which allow excessive heat input into
the AI-Li alloys resulting in:
(i) a coarse weld microstructure
(ii) a wide HAZ
(iii) lithium depletion in the weld zone.
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The above can lead to lower strength of welded joints

and low resistance to stress corrosion cracking.
This problem can be overcome if the weld pool is
solidified rapidly, thereby promoting a (fine weld
microstructure, minimal loss of elements from the
weld pool, and a narrow HAZ. The high pbwer beam
processes, such as EB or LB welding, can be successfully used for this purpose and already ~ome success
has been reported in the literature.
High power beam welding processes have been
successfully used to join AI-Li alloys. Electron beam
welding has already been used to join alloys 8090,
2090, and 2094. Typically, moderate improvements in
strength compared with arc weld properties (Table 2)
can be achieved as a result of a finer microstructure,
a narrower fusion zone, and better response to aging.
Similarly, promising results for LB welded alloy 2090,
particularly after PWHT, have been reported.
Diffusion bonding of AI-Li alloys
Diffusion bonding has been successfully used to join

titanium and its alloys. However, diffusion bonding
of aluminium alloys is rather difficult owing to the
tenacious oxide layer which acts as a barrier to
diffusion. Most early studies on aluminium diffusion
bonding321-323 concentrated on the relationships
between bond strength and bonding variables such
as bonding temperature and time, applied pressure,
and surface finish. There has been relatively little
progress in understanding the physical and chemical
phenomena occurring at and around the bond line.
When diffusion bonding aluminium alloys, the
native oxide prevents metal to metal contact and
hence the formation of the mechanically sound joint.
The oxide therefore needs to be removed, fractured,
or disrupted during bonding.
Two bonding methods have nevertheless emerged.
The first involves surface modification, such as deposition of a silver or zinc coating on a nominally oxide
free aluminium surface by ion plating (the oxide film
is removed by ion bombardment before coating)324-326and the second uses large scale deformation
in the bonded zone to fracture the tenacious layer of
alumina on the aluminium surface.327,328The second
method is cheaper than the first one. Another
approach to eliminate the oxide layer is the use of a
clad layer which reacts with the aluminium to form
a liquid phase capable of dissolving it.329
With regard to chemical phenomena, it has been
shown330 that magnesium and lithium, which are
present as alloying elements in the AI-Li-Cu alloy
8090, are important to the bonding process because
they chemically modify the tenacious alumina layer
present on the aluminium surface. Maddrell and
Wallach331 investigated diffusion welding of alloy
8090 (AI-9Li-05Cu-08Mg (at.-olo)). The bonding
pressure was 25 MPa, which was not adequate to
substantially disrupt the tenacious oxide layer.
Consequently, the bond line remained affected by a
semicontinuous layer of oxide, leading to poor
mechanical properties.
Dunford and Partridge324 obtained solution treated
bond strengths of 110 MPa in the AI-Li alloy 8090,
the oxide layer of which had been removed by sputtering and the clean surface coated with a thin layer of
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silver. Bonding was carried out at a pressure of

110-130 MPa and a temperature of 280-300aC. In
later work, Edwards et al.332 studied the diffusion
bonding of AI-Li alloy 8090 clad with pure aluminium
or coated with silver. They reported that there was
no need to coat with silver provided that sufficient
pressure was applied. The highest lap shear strength
in the as solution treated condition of 100-110 MPa
was obtained in the alloy clad with pure aluminium
by applying a pressure of 50 MPa at 200aC and
bonding at 500aC. However, these bonds failed in a
brittle manner by bending or peeling. The authors
also reported that a clad layer of 0025 mm or less is
necessary to obtain bonds capable of being age
hardened.
Urena and Dunkerton333 also studied the diffusion
bonding of alloy 8090 using pure aluminium (15 flm
thick) or silver interlayers (12'5 flm thick). They
reported that the bonding procedure with the pure
aluminium interlayer provides higher integrity joints
than joints with silver interlayers because of the
absence of intermetallic compound layers. Lap shear
strengths nominally of 80 MPa were reported for as
bonded joints with a pure aluminium interlayer for
conditions of 530 C, 8-10 MPa, and 60 min. Postbond solution and aging treatments on the pure
aluminium interlayer joints led to lap shear strengths
in the range 80-100 MPa.
Junai et al.334 successfully demonstrated diffusion
bonding of alloy 8090 with 15 mm thick sheet. No
oxide layer was visible in the interface microstructures
of the specimens, which were diffusion bonded using
pressures of 63 and 87 MPa. It was also difficult to
locate the interface in these microstructures, indicating that a pressure of 63 MPa was adequate to break
and disperse the oxide layer present at the joint
interface. A peel strength of 90 MPa was obtained for
the diffusion bonded joints of alloy 8090 when bonded
at a pressure of 63 MPa for 60 min at 530aC.
Ricks et al.335 investigated the effect of a roll clad
zinc based alloy interlayer on the diffusion bonding
of alloy 8090. The aim of using the interlayer was to
produce a TLP which solidifies by diffusion, thus
inducing bonding. Either atmospheric or inert gas
conditions were used and bonding times of up to 8 h
were used with bonding pressures of
5 MPa at
500-540 C
to minimise distortion. Bond shear
strengths of 100-120 MPa were achieved, although it
was noted that considerable care should be taken at
the surface cleaning stage to achieve these properties.
Hot tear strengths in excess of 45 MPa at temperatures consistent with superplastic deformation of the
alloy were also reported, indicating that the superplastic forming-diffusion bonding (SPF-DB) process is feasible.
a
ro.-'
General comments on diffusion bonding of

AI-Li alloys
Some success has already been achieved in diffusion

bonding of AI-Li alloys. However, most of the bonding methods present problems when bonding AI-Li
alloys, particularly when a superplastic forming (SPF)
process is to be applied after bonding and the joint
strengths obtained are low. Superplastic forming after
bonding restricts the bonding temperature which can
9am and Kor;ak
be used; ideally the temperature should be lower than

or equal to the superplastic temperature for the alloy.
Furthermore, the bonding time must be restricted to
avoid grain growth in the parent sheet which could
affect the SPF properties. The potential of AI-Li
alloys for weight reductions in aerospace applications
will be further enhanced if a viable SPF-DB process
can be developed.
Conclusions
Use of advanced materials in the aerospace, petrochemical, automotive, and power generation industries will inevitably be limited if they can not be
joined effectively to themselves or other alloys.
In principle, solid state bonding and all fusion
welding processes are of potential interest for joining
of advanced
materials.
However,
some specific
requirements of the different application areas make
one particular joining process more suitable than the
others. The alloys, their weldability, welding metallurgy, and joining processes, which represent state of
the art advanced materials and processes, have been
covered in this review. Attention was given to material
types (such as intermetallic alloys) and joining processes (such as diffusion bonding and laser welding)
in which the GKSS Research Center has a current
interest.
This review has demonstrated that a variety of the
advanced materials of great industrial interest can be
welded or bonded with current joining processes.
However, further work to optimise joining procedures
and to understand the metallurgical changes in the
fusion zone for improving weld ability still represents
a considerable challenge. There is also a need to
develop appropriate mechanical testing procedures,
taking into account the unique features of the joints,
to assess the joint properties and demonstrate the
consistency of the joint quality.
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parts in Science and Technology of Welding and Joining.

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Progress in joining of advanced materials

Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd

G. C;am and M. K09ak

Advanced materials generally require novel

edge gained over many years of work on conventional

Solid state joining processes

Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd

9am and Kor;ak

Joining of advanced materials

processes include inertia (or friction) welding and

It is possible to join a wide range of materials in both

a initial point contact and oxide contaminant layer; b large voids

9am and Kor;ak

applications for a range of materials and geometries

Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd

Liquid state diffusion bonding or diffusion brazing

Also known as transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding,

The SPF-DB technique was specifically developed

Solid state diffusion bonding

Solid state bonding is mainly carried out under

Joining of advanced materials

a for integrally stiffened structure; b for sandwich structure

Principle of SPF-DB technique2,5

bonding in those areas where it is not required, as

Fusion joining processes

9am and Ko(}ak

Joining of advanced materials

Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd

Principles of laser beam

of a vacuum working chamber, since the propagation

Lasers are now attracting a great deal of interest as

uous laser can be completed in 8 s. Figure 3 is a

During the past decade, an extensive effort has been

9am and Kot;ak

Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd

ultra high energy density beam

Joining of advanced materials

Keyhole formation in laser beam welding

titanium. This means that these alloys therefore suffer

Modified Ti-AI phase diagram: after pfullmann

of the phase diagrams shows that solidification to IX,

Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd

r;am and Kor;ak Joining of advanced materials

(X2- Ti3Al alloy indicated

a for 0-100 wt-%Nb, arrow indicates approximate

The mechanical properties of these alloys are

f;am and K09ak

Joining of advanced materials

Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd

a from light microscopy; b from TEM (bright field), arrows indicate

P strips between C(2 platelets

exploitation of eutectic reactions in titanium alloys in

tic grain size, and eutectic structure) is of prime

Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd

f;am and K09ak

Joining of advanced materials

microstructure (with mean grain size 3 /lm). They

been a result of insufficient soaking time before

Published by Maney Publishing (c) IOM Communications Ltd

9am and K09ak