See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/309892843

Welding of titanium and stainless steel using the composite insert

Conference Paper · November 2016

DOI: 10.1063/1.4966316

CITATIONS READS
0 162

6 authors, including:

A. N. Cherepanov Vyacheslav Iosifovich Mali

Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Russian Academy of Sciences, SBRAS, Novosibirsk, Russia
166 PUBLICATIONS   250 CITATIONS    222 PUBLICATIONS   735 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

A. M. Orishich A. G. Malikov
Russian Academy of Sciences Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
207 PUBLICATIONS   639 CITATIONS    82 PUBLICATIONS   170 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

High-strength laser welding of Al-Li alloys View project

Dynamic behavior of metals View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Vladimir Drozdov on 28 February 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Welding of titanium and stainless steel using the composite insert
A. N. Cherepanov, V. I. Mali, A. M. Orishich, A. G. Malikov, V. O. Drozdov, and Y. N. Malyutina

Citation: AIP Conference Proceedings 1783, 020023 (2016); doi: 10.1063/1.4966316

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4966316
View Table of Contents: http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/proceeding/aipcp/1783?ver=pdfcov
Published by the AIP Publishing

Articles you may be interested in

Surface characterization of Zr/Ti/Nb tri-layered films deposited by magnetron sputtering on Si(111) and stainless
steel substrates
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 30, 051505 (2012); 10.1116/1.4737616

Ti surface alloying of an AISI 316L stainless steel by low energy high current pulsed electron beam treatment
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 26, 1407 (2008); 10.1116/1.2976566

Experimental study of the relationship between temperature and adhesive forces for low-alloyed steel, stainless
steel, and titanium using atomic force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum
J. Appl. Phys. 103, 124301 (2008); 10.1063/1.2938844

Characterization of the Ti-doped diamond-like carbon coatings on a type 304 stainless steel
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 17, 1053 (1999); 10.1116/1.581682

Ultrasonic evaluation of austenitic stainless steel welds using shear horizontal waves
Appl. Phys. Lett. 39, 699 (1981); 10.1063/1.92853
 Welding of Titanium and Stainless Steel Using
the Composite Insert
A. N. Cherepanov1,a), V. I. Mali2,b), A. M. Orishich1,c), A. G. Malikov1,d),
V. O. Drozdov1,e), and Y. N. Malyutina3,f)
1
Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics SB RAS, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia
2
Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics SB RAS, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russia
3
Novosibirsk State Technical University, Novosibirsk, 630073 Russia
a)
ancher@itam.nsc.ru
b)
vmali@mail.ru
c)
laser@itam.nsc.ru
d)
Corresponding author: smalik@ngs.ru
e)
drozdov@itam.nsc.ru
f)
romashova@corp.nstu.ru

Abstract. The paper concerns the possibility of obtaining a lasting permanent joint of dissimilar metals: technically pure
titanium and stainless steel using laser welding and an intermediate composite insert. The insert was a four-layer
composition of plates of steel, copper, niobium, and titanium welded by explosion. The material layers used in the insert
prevented the molten steel and titanium from mixing, which excluded the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds,
such as FeTi and Fe2Ti. The optimization of explosion welding parameters provided a high quality of the four-layer
composition and the absence of defects in the area of the joint of insert plates. The results of strength tests showed that
values of the ultimate strength and yield of the permanent joint with the composite insert welded by explosion are
comparable to the strength characteristics of titanium.

INTRODUCTION
Laser welding of metals and alloys is the most promising method of joining materials, including those
heterogeneous in chemical composition, such as titanium-based alloys and iron. The use of welded structures of
steel and titanium allows for a reduction in the weight of products, which is important in space and rocket
engineering. Many studies are described in the literature on welding of dissimilar metals by rolling, friction,
explosion techniques, electron and laser beams using various technological methods [1–16]. However, the problem
of the laser joint by melting titanium and steel, particularly austenitic one, using a laser beam has no practical
solutions until now.
According to the state diagram of the titanium-iron system, the solubility of iron in α-titanium is extremely small
and is within 0.05–0.10% at normal temperature. At the concentrations of Fe greater than 0.1%, brittle intermetallic
compounds, such as FeTi and Fe2Ti, and eutectics of various compositions are formed in the alloy, which
dramatically reduce plastic properties of the material. The direct welding of titanium and stainless steel produces no
positive result due to the formation of large intermetallic phases FeTi and Fe2Ti in the weld seam [7]. In this regard,
one of the main problems here is the choice of welding materials, welding methods, and modes that would prevent
or greatly suppress the formation of brittle compounds. In previous studies, the intensity of the formation of
intermetallic phases in laser welding of steel and titanium was reduced using various metal inserts (copper, bronze,
etc.) [7]. The most effective insert was that made of the copper plate, the use of which allowed us to obtain
compounds with the tensile strength up to 350 MPa.

Advanced Materials with Hierarchical Structure for New Technologies and Reliable Structures 2016
AIP Conf. Proc. 1783, 020023-1–020023-4; doi: 10.1063/1.4966316
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1445-7/$30.00

020023-1
 FIGURE 1. Structure of compound boundaries in the four-layer insert SS–Cu–Nb–Ti obtained by explosion welding

However, intermetallic grains of FeTi and Fe2Ti of large size were formed, which resulted in a sufficiently large
spread of values of the temporary strength. The strongest permanent joints of austenitic steel and titanium were
obtained using the multilayer composite insert consisting of thin plates of steel, copper, tantalum, and titanium
produced by explosion [8].

RESEARCH METHODS
In this study, we investigate the application of the composite insert using niobium instead of tantalum for the
laser welding of titanium and austenitic steel. Niobium has chemical properties similar to those of tantalum and a
high melting temperature (Tm = 2469°C), but its cost is considerably less as compared with tantalum. Another
important advantage of niobium over tantalum is its lower density (ρNb = 8.57  103 kg/m3, ρTa = 16.65  103 kg/m3),
which provides a high specific strength of the resulting compositions. In [9], numerical calculations of thermal
welding modes for titanium and steel are carried out with an intermediate copper insert. It follows from the
calculations that when applying the laser radiation to the boundary of contact of steel and copper plates, the isotherm
of titanium melting (1668°C) is situated in the upper part of the plate at the distance ~1.2 mm from the beam axis.
Since the melting point of niobium is 2468°C, it can be concluded that the niobium plate will not melt under the
current welding conditions. Therefore, welding of the composite insert will not lead to melting of the niobium plate,
so it will be a barrier to the penetration of titanium atoms into the copper + steel melt. The explosion welding has
been widely used in Russia and abroad [10–16]. The process of metal joining is carried out at normal temperature,
so there is no formation of intermetallic compounds. This results in the greatest possible bond strength among
welding methods [16]. Below are the results of the studies of stainless steel and titanium joints obtained by means of
laser beams using the intermediate insert consisting of the four plates welded by explosion: CrNi steel AISI 321 (SS),
copper (Cu), niobium (Nb), and technically pure titanium Grade 2 (Ti). The plate thicknesses are 3.0, 0.2, 0.2, and
3.0 mm, respectively. The dissimilar metals listed above in the form of plates with the transverse dimensions
100  50 mm are welded in a single explosion. The plate of steel is placed on the fixed steel base. On the top of it,
plates of copper, niobium, and titanium are placed successively and parallel to each other. An explosive layer of
6ZhV ammonite is evenly distributed over the titanium plate and initiated by the detonator from one corner of the
charge.

(a) (b)
FIGURE 2. Morphology of copper-niobium (a) and niobium-titanium (b) boundaries in the intermediate composite insert

020023-2
 TABLE 1. Microprobe analysis of the elements in mixing areas
Mixing areas at the joint
Element Weight % Atomic %
boundaries
Cu 79.15 84.65
Cu-Nb
Nb 20.85 15.35
Ti 50.96 66.84
Ti-Nb
Nb 49.04 33.16

The detonation products (D = 3 km/s) accelerate the titanium plate, which collided with the niobium plate at an
angle. Then, this two-layer package obliquely collides with the copper plate, and the resulting three-layer package
collides with the steel plate lying still on the rigid base. These high-speed oblique inelastic collisions of the metals
result in their welding and formation of four-layer composite specimens SS–Cu–Nb–Ti (Fig. 1).
To remove internal stresses arising in the material after high-speed collision, the composite insert is heated in a
vacuum oven for 1 hour at 300°C. Then, a strip with the width corresponding to the thickness of laser-welded plates
is cut from the four-layer specimen. The surface of the cut strip is preliminarily treated with sandpaper and acetone.
The insert prepared in this way is placed between the welded plates of titanium and steel. Then, the steel plate is
welded to the steel part of the insert, and the titanium plate is welded to the titanium part of the insert.
The welding is performed using the CO2 laser. The laser power varies from 1.5 to 2.4 kW, and the rate of the
beam movement ranges from 0.9 to 1.2 m/min. To exclude the possibility of the titanium surface oxidation, welding
is performed in the protective atmosphere of helium. The laser welding of similar metals occurs without difficulty
while the layers of copper and niobium are barriers to the formation of brittle intermetallic phases of the Fe-Ti
system.

RESULTS
Microstructural studies are carried out using optical (OM, Carl Zeiss Axio Observer Z1m) and scanning electron
microscopes (SEM, Carl Zeiss EVO 50 XVP) equipped with a spectrometer for microprobe analysis (MRSA,
Oxford Instruments INCA X-ACT).
Morphological and structural features of internal boundaries of the composite insert welded by explosion are
illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. As a result, weld seams of various configurations are formed. The boundaries of Cu-Nb
and Nb-Ti compounds do not have a simple waveform characteristic of explosion welding. This can be explained by
properties and characteristics of interaction of welded materials as well as by possible instability of deformation
processes developing at high-speed collision of plates. The most pronounced wavy boundary is observed in the SS-
Cu compound.
The microstructural analysis of copper-niobium and niobium-titanium compounds shows separate islands on
their boundaries with the length up to 20 and 10 μm, respectively, which are regions of mixing of interacting
materials (Fig. 2). No structural defects are found on the compound boundaries.
The results of the microprobe analysis in border mixing areas of copper and niobium, titanium and niobium are
presented in Table 1.

FIGURE 3. Distribution of the microhardness of the welded composition

(the niobium plate is taken as the aero point); 1—laser welding areas

020023-3
 TABLE 2. Results of strength characteristics of weld joints with four-layer inserts
Type of the Ultimate tensile Ultimate yield strength Relative elongation
insert strength UTS, MPa Y, MPa , %
With Nb 475.5 302 5.4
With Ta [8] 417.42 213.26 5.25

The microhardness distribution of the welded joint is given in Fig. 3. The measurements are carried out from the
ВТ1-0 titanium plate (alloy Grade 2) to the 12Х18Н10Т (AISI 321 steel) chromium-nickel steel plate. The
microhardness of the initial titanium and steel is 190 and 275 HV, respectively. In spite of some deviations
occurring during the measurements, it is evident that the hardness of the basic metals ВТ1-0 and 12Х18Н10Т as
well as the areas of the thermal influence on the titanium/titanium and steel/steel interfaces is lower than the
hardness of laser-welded joints. The minimum microhardness is registered in the copper plate. It reaches just
120 HV. At the copper/steel interface, in the area with weak etchability, the increased microhardness is registered
against the microhardness of the initial steel plate, this value reaches 300 HV. This fact vindicates the intensive
deformation strengthening of the surface plate layers, which results from their high-speed explosion loading. This
effect is not observed at the niobium/titanium interface, which is likely to result from the thermophysical
characteristics, particularly thermal conductivity, so that recrystallization processes occur at the interface.
Static tensile tests of the welded joint where composite layers are arranged perpendicularly to the direction of
tension are performed with the Instron 8801 servohydraulic testing machine. The average value of mechanical
characteristics obtained during the tests of four test specimens are shown in Table 2, which also contains for
comparison strength characteristics of the weld joint obtained previously using an intermediate insert containing the
tantalum plate instead of the niobium one.
The test results show that values of the ultimate tensile and yield strengths of permanent joints with composite
inserts welded by explosion are comparable to those of technically pure titanium (450 and 380 MPa, respectively).
Strength properties of the joint with the intermediate insert containing the niobium plate exceed strength
characteristics of the compound with the plate of tantalum [8].

CONCLUSION
The application of the composite insert obtained by explosion welding of titanium, niobium, copper, and steel
plates using the continuous CO2 laser allowed obtaining a permanent joint with the ultimate strength (UTS =
475.5 MPa) and yield (Y = 302 MPa), which are comparable to the strength of the initial titanium (450 and
380 MPa, respectively). In the static tensile test, fracture occurred with the weakest component of the composite
insert, i.e. the copper plate.
The work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project No. 14-08-00633.

REFERENCES
1. G. Metzger and R. Lison, Weld. J. 55(8), 230–240 (1976).
2. U. Reisgen, L. Stein, and M. Steiners, Schweiβen Schneiden. 62(5), 278–284 (2010).
3. S. Katayama, Weld. Int. 1(8), 618–625 (2004).
4. W. W. Duley, Laser Welding (John Willey, London, 1998).
5. D. M. Ryabkin, V. R. Ryabov, and S. M. Gurevich, Welding of Dissimilar Metals (Tekhnika, Kiev, 1976).
6. M. Rathod and M. Kutsuma, Quart. J. Jap. Weld. Soc. 2, 282–294 (2003).
7. A. N. Cherepanov, Yu. V. Afonin, and A. M. Orishich, Heavy Eng. 8, 24–26 (2009).
8. A. N. Cherepanov, A. M. Orishich, and V. I. Mali, Phys. Combust. Explos. 50(4), 124–129 (2014).
9. V. I. Isaev, A. N. Cherepanov, and V. P. Shapeev, Int. J. Heat Mass. Transfer. 99, 711–720 (2016).
10. B. Crossland, Int. J. Impact Eng. 30, 1333–1351 (2004).
11. F. Grignon, D. Benson, K. S. Vecchio, and M. A. Meyers, Int. J. Impact Eng. 30, 1333–1351 (2004).
12. I. A. Bataev, A. A. Bataev, V. I. Mali, et al., Mater. Design 35, 225–234 (2012).
13. S. A. A. Akbari-Mousavi, L. M. Barrett, and S. T. S. Al-Hassani, J. Mater. Process Technol. 202, 224–239
(2008).
14. F. Findik, Mater. Design 32(3), 1081–1093 (2011).
15. F. Grignon, D. Benson, K. S. Vecchio, and M. A. Meyers, Int. J. Impact Eng. 30, 1333–1351 (2004).
16. A. A. Deribas, Physics of Hardening and Explosion Welding (Nauka, Novosibirsk, 1972).

020023-4
View publication stats