Study on Al-Cu-Si braze containing small amount of rare earth erbium

Abstract

In the present work, the effect of a small amount of rare earth Er addition on the microstructure of Al-Cu-Si brazing alloy has been investigated. In the study, the Al-20Cu-7Si brazing alloys with various Er contents were prepared. 3003 aluminum alloy was chosen as a substrate. The microstructure of the brazed alloys was carefully observed. In addition, melting temperature, wettability and hardness of the brazing alloys were measured. The results indicate that the constituent of the microstructure of Al-20Cu-7Si-Er brazed alloy is similar to the Al-20Cu-7Si, which is mainly comprised of solid solutions of aluminum, silicon and the intermetallic compounds CuAl₂. When the Er content increases, the size of Al phases is decreased, and the filament-like or needle-like Si phase is thickened. The Si phases dominating in the shape of a filament or needle are transformed to those in the shape of a block when Er content is increased. Moreover, adding a small amount of Er can improve the wettability and hardness of the Al-20Cu-7Si brazing alloy. However, the melting temperature of the Al-20Cu-7Si alloy is almost unchanged when a small amount of Er is added.

Keywords

Al-Si-Cu / braze / rare earth / erbium / microstructure