Laser Brazing of Steel – Aluminum Assembly
L. Rodriguez, A. Mathieu, C. Langlade, A. Vannes, D. Grevey, S. Mattei
New anti-pollution and energy saving laws necessitate a reduction in the fuel consumption of internal combustion engines. This reduction may be attained by reducing the weight of vehicles by introducing aluminium sections into the steel car-body. Laser brazing is a process, which can be used to make such a composite structure possible. The main problem of thermal joining processes is the formation of inter-metallic composite phases, which reduce the performance of the joint. Laser brazing enables localized fusion of a joint with limited precipitation of these brittle phases. This paper presents the results of a feasibility study of two filler metals: AlSi-12 and ZnAl-15. The study shows that the joints brazed using ZnAl-15 have better mechanical properties that those brazed with AlSi-12.