Collision Welding of Dissimilar Materials by Vaporizing Foil Actuator: A Breakthrough Technology for Dissimilar Metal Joining
- The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
This work demonstrated and further developed Vaporizing Foil Actuator Welding (VFAW) as a viable technique for dissimilar-metal joining for automotive lightweighting applications. VFAW is a novel impact welding technology, which uses the pressure developed from electrically-assisted rapid vaporization of a thin aluminum foil (the consumable) to launch and ultimately collide two of more pieces of metal to create a solid-state bond between them. 18 dissimilar combinations of automotive alloys from the steel, aluminum and magnesium alloy classes were screened for weldability and characterized by metallography of weld cross sections, corrosion testing, and mechanical testing. Most combinations, especially a good number of Al/Fe pairs, were welded successfully. VFAW was even able to weld combinations of very high strength materials such as 5000 and 6000 series aluminum alloys to boron and dual phase steels, which is difficult to impossible by other joining techniques such as resistance spot welding, friction stir welding, or riveting. When mechanically tested, the samples routinely failed in a base metal rather than along the weld interface, showing that the weld was stronger than either of the base metals. As for corrosion performance, a polymer-based protective coating was used to successfully combat galvanic corrosion of 5 Al/Fe pairs through a month-long exposure to warm salt fog. In addition to the technical capabilities, VFAW also consumes little energy compared to conventional welding techniques and requires relatively light, flexible tooling. Given the technical and economic advantages, VFAW can be a very competitive joining technology for automotive lightweighting. The success of this project and related activities has resulted in substantial interest not only within the research community but also various levels of automotive supply chain, which are collaborating to bring this technology to commercial use.
- Research Organization:
- The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office (EE-3V)
- DOE Contract Number:
- EE0006451
- OSTI ID:
- 1416747
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-OSU-0006451
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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