Materials and Design 52 (2013) 359366

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Materials and Design

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matdes

Impulse pressuring diffusion bonding of a copper alloy to a stainless steel with/without a pure nickel interlayer
Xinjian Yuan , Kunlun Tang, Yongqiang Deng, Jun Luo, Guangmin Sheng
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, No. 174, Shazheng Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing 400044, PR China

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
Impulse pressuring diffusion bonding of a copper alloy to a stainless steel was performed in vacuum. Using Ni interlayer of 12.5 lm, the joint produced at 825 C under 520 MPa for 20 min exhibited lower strength, which could result from the insufcient thermal excitation and plastic deformation. At 850 C under 520 MPa for 520 min, the strength of the joint improved with time. An optimized joint strength reached up to 217.2 MPa. Fracture occurred along the CuNi reaction layer and the Ni layer and almost plastic fracture was conrmed by extensive dimples on the fracture surface. Using the interlayer of 50 lm, the fracture surface was similar. Without Ni assistance, under the same bonding condition, the joint strength was about 174.2 MPa. The lowered strength might be attributed to the appearance of some unbonded zones in the joint. Lots of brittle fracture areas appeared on the fracture surface. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 18 December 2012 Accepted 17 May 2013 Available online 31 May 2013 Keywords: Impulse pressuring Diffusion bonding Copper alloy Stainless steel Mechanical property

1. Introduction Because of the benecial features of the bimetal, the demand for joints of Cu alloy/stainless steel has increased in industrial applications from nuclear, automobile, rail and aviation industries to smaller, more commonly used products [1]. For instance, in the power-generation plants, the Cu alloy/stainless steel combinations have been widely used and primarily employed for the in-vessel components of international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) [25]. ITER has been constructed to produce efcient and commercial energy from fusion by safe operation of a reactor. Based on the successful applications of austenitic stainless steel in the nuclear environments of light water and faster breeder reactors, it is selected as a primary structural material for rst wall/ blanket system. In view of high conductivity and thermal stress resistance of Cu alloys, they are selected as a heat sink to meet the particular demand that heat uxes generated in the divertor should dissipate uniformly [5]. Joining of Cu alloy to stainless steel has become a challenging task due to their obvious mismatches, such as thermomechanical properties, physical properties and chemical properties. Such conventional welding processes as shielded metal arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding, gas metal arc welding and submerged arc welding make Cu alloy and stainless steel difcult to obtain defect-free dissimilar joints [6]. To improve the microstructure and properties of Cu alloy/stainless steel joint, the bimetal has been produced by electron-beam welding [7,8], laser welding [6,9],
Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +86 23 65127306.
E-mail address: xinjianyuan@cqu.edu.cn (X. Yuan). 0261-3069/$ - see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2013.05.057

friction welding [10,11], explosive welding [3,4,12,13] and diffusion bonding [1,2,1417]. Among these joining methods, diffusion bonding is an attractive technique for forming this bimetal while minimizing deleterious effects (such as crack, distortion and segregation) on material properties [3,14,15]. Diffusion bonding is a solid-state joining process, which is conducted under an exerting pressure at 0.70.9 of the absolute melting temperature of the materials to minimize macroscopic deformation and allows contacting surfaces to be joined [18]. Generally, during any direct diffusion bonding of dissimilar materials, poor mechanical properties might result from the residual stress produced by the related mismatch in the material linear expansion coefcients and the formed micro-voids and micro-cracks owing to the difference in intrinsic diffusion coefcient of alloying species. For example, Yilmaz and Aksoy have found that micro-voids and micro-cracks are formed in the bonding region and cannot vanish even though the joining time is increased to 30 min. Furthermore, these defects weaken the mechanical and physical properties of the joint [16]. To reduce the negative effects, increase the bonding efciency and improve the joint properties, two efforts were made in this paper. On the one hand, impulse pressuring diffusion bonding was applied as the joining process. Impulse pressuring diffusion bonding process, during which an impulse pressure substitutes for a constant pressure, has been employed successfully to join dissimilar materials [19,20]. For instance, successful studies have been recently reported on impulse pressuring diffusion bonding of titanium alloy to stainless steel. The tensile strength of the joint has been enhanced to 321 MPa and the effective bonding time has been decreased to 180 s [19]. However, little work has been done regarding impulse pressuring diffusion bonding in copper

360

X. Yuan et al. / Materials and Design 52 (2013) 359366

stainless steel with a pure nickel foil interlayer. Impulse pressuring diffusion bonding without nickel assistance was carried out as a reference to do comparative analyses.

2. Experimental procedure 304L stainless steel and pure copper (99.9 wt.%) cylinders, measuring U12 mm 35 mm, were machined from as-received rods and used as the base materials. The nominal chemical composition of the stainless steel in weight percent was 0.02% C, 1.26% Mn, 19.35% Cr, 0.39% Mo, 8.15% Ni, 0.42% Si, 0.20% Cu, 0.024% P, 0.004% S and the balance was Fe. Pure Ni (99.99 wt.%) foils with 12.5 lm and 50 lm were used as the interlayer. The surfaces of the sectioned coupons were ground on SiC paper to a 2000-grit nish and then polished by a 1 lm polycrystalline diamond suspension to ensure an adequate mating surface. Prior to impulse pressuring diffusion bonding, the specimens to be bonded together were decreased with acetone in an ultrasonic bath for 60 min. The interlayer foil was sandwiched between the mating surfaces of the base metals. A series of bonding tests were performed in a Gleeble-1500D under a vacuum of approximately 5 102 Pa. A schematic diagram of impulse pressuring diffusion bonding process is shown in Fig. 1. Based on the pre-experiments and the Ref. [19], a uniaxial impulse load of minimum pressure (5 MPa) and maximum pressure (20 MPa) was applied along the longitudinal direction of the assemblies, and the frequency of impulsion was 0.5 Hz. The number of impulsion corresponds to the bonding time. During bonding, both the heating rate and the cooling rate were 5 C/s. After bonding operation, the bonded specimens were annealed for 1 h at 400 C in vacuum furnace to eliminate joining stress and produce optimal structure. Specimens for tensile testing were machined using a standard tensile test in accordance to

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of impulse pressuring diffusion bonding process.

Fig. 2. Schematic drawing for tensile testing.

alloy-stainless steel bimetal. On the other hand, nickel was selected as an intermediate. That is because of good mutual solid solubility between nickel and iron as well as between nickel and copper [17]. Furthermore, the corrosion resistance of the bond made using nickel as an intermediate is better as compared to the joints obtained using other interlayer [14]. Therefore, the objective of the present research is to investigate microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties during impulse pressuring diffusion bonding of a copper alloy to a

Fig. 3. SEM micrographs and EDS line scan results (the black lines showing the line scan trace) for typical cross-sections prepared with Ni interlayer of 12.5 lm at 850 C for 5 min (a), 10 min (b) and 20 min (c).

X. Yuan et al. / Materials and Design 52 (2013) 359366

361

Fig. 4. Average width of interdiffusion layers changed as a function of bonding time.

ASTM: E8/E8M-11. The tensile testing is shown schematically in Fig. 2. And then the machined specimens were evaluated on an Instron-1342 mechanical testing machine with a constant strain rate of 0.5 mm/min. For microstructural examinations, specimens were sectioned from the diffusion-bonded joints. Ground and polished cross sections were etched for 510 s in aqua regia (60% HCl + 20% HNO3 + 20% H2O). Copper alloy base materials were etched for about 60 s in a mixture of 5 g FeCl3, 50 ml HCl and 100 ml distilled water (H2O). Microstructural observations were conducted using an optical microscope (OM) and a NOVA-400 eld emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The chemical composition was analyzed by means of energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Cross-sectional microstructure of joint Fig. 3 illustrates typical cross-sectional SEM images and EDS line scan results of Cu/304L joints prepared using impulse pressuring diffusion bonding with Ni interlayer in a thickness of 12.5 lm under 520 MPa impulse pressure at 850 C for 5, 10 and 20 min. From Fig. 3, four conclusions can be drawn. Firstly, for three bonding conditions, there were gradual increases in the Ni content and gradual decreases in the Fe, Cr and Cu contents at the 304L-Ni and NiCu interfaces. At these interfaces, no composition platforms were observed, which conveys that intermetallic compounds were not formed. Secondly, the remainder of Ni interlayer was found in the joint center area. This means that the existence of Ni prevented the interdiffusion of Fe, Cr and Cu.
Fig. 6. SEM micrograph (a) and EDS line scan results (b) (the dark dot line showing the line scan trace) for typical cross-section obtained using Ni interlayer in a thickness of 50 lm under 520 MPa impulse pressure at 850 C for 20 min.

Thirdly, in the case of 5 min, some micro voids in an irregular shape could be seen clearly in the interface zone. This may be attributed to the fact that the diffusion coefcients of Fe, Cr, Ni and Cu are different and then a ux imbalance across the interfaces is originated. Another reason might be that the original porosities cannot be eliminated by the contact of surfaces and the deformation and ow of metals (especially Ni foil) due to lower holding time. Mechanical properties of joint are adversely affected by these generated weak void zones [4,14]. Similar occurrences of Kirken-

Fig. 5. OM images of the copper alloy exposed for 20 min at 825 C (a), 850 C (b) and 875 C (c).

362

X. Yuan et al. / Materials and Design 52 (2013) 359366

Fig. 7. SEM micrograph (a) and EDS result (b) (the white dot line showing the scan trace) for typical cross-section made without Ni interlayer at 850 C for 20 min.

dall void were found within the diffusion-bonded interfaces [1,4,14,15]. By comparison with other studies, the amount of micro voids is very small in the present research. This indicates that diffusion bonding with impulse pressure is benecial to the reduction of micro voids. Furthermore, it could be observed from Fig. 3 that these micro voids lessened as a function of time, since the deformation of metals and the contact of surfaces increase with time. As a result, a sound joint could be obtained. Finally, the interdiffusions of Cu and Ni elements, Fe, Cr and Ni elements can be demonstrated by their concentration proles across the interface zones of the joints. The average thickness of interdiffusion layer in the interface areas was measured using SEM micrographs and plotted against the bonding time, as given in Fig. 4. From Fig. 4, the thickness of reaction layer widened with the increase of time. It is perhaps worthy of note that the interdiffusion depth between Ni and Cu at the NiCu interface was larger than that between Fe, Cr and Ni at the 304L-Ni interface. This might result from the diffusion of Ni and Cu is faster as compared to the diffusion of Fe and Cr. For instance, the diffusion coefcient of Cu (5 1014 m2 s1 at 900 C) is higher than that of c-Fe (3 1017 m2 s1 at 900 C) according to Refs. [1,14,21]. To understand the effect of temperature on the microstructure of the joint and the copper alloy base metal, impulse pressuring diffusion bonding of 304L to Cu alloy was performed as a function of temperature from 825 C to 875 C using Ni interlayer of 12.5 lm under 520 MPa impulse pressure for 20 min. The results were similar to the cases that mentioned with time. There were few micro-voids in the bonding region. As the bonding temperature was increased, the interdiffusion layer broadened. Fig. 5 shows

Fig. 8. Variations in the tensile strength of the joints prepared as functions of bonding time (a), bonding temperature (b) and interlayer thickness (c) (0 lm thickness interlayer corresponding to no interlayer).

OM images of the copper alloy base material exposed at 825 C, 850 C and 875 C for 20 min. Exposure at high temperatures coarsened the microstructure of the copper alloy. That is why post-bond heat treatment was carried out. Re-heat treatment of the specimens can made optimal structures and relieve bonding stress. Besides, impulse pressuring diffusion bonding of 304L to Cu alloy was also conducted using interlayer with 50 lm. Fig. 6 represents typical cross-sectional SEM images and EDS line scan results of Cu/304L joints obtained using Ni interlayer in a thickness of 50 lm under 520 MPa impulse pressure at 850 C for 20 min.

X. Yuan et al. / Materials and Design 52 (2013) 359366 Table 1 Tensile strength of the copper alloy subjected to high temperature exposure for 20 min at 825 C, 850 C and 875 C. Exposure temperature (C) 825 850 875 Tensile strength (MPa) 241.5 238.8 233.1 Zone Zone Zone Zone Zone Zone Zone Zone 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Table 2 Chemical compositions (analyzed by EDS) of the micro-zones in Fig. 9. Micro-zones Elemental composition (at.%) Fe 50.15 68.75 3.17 Cr 11.00 9.96 Ni 38.85 21.29 96.83 14.78 100.00 15.81 100.00 23.90 Cu

363

Diffusion-bonded joint was also produced. The width of the residual Ni interlayer in the bonding region was relatively larger. To make a comparison, impulse pressuring diffusion bonding of 304L to Cu alloy without interlayer was also inspected. Fig. 7 presents typical cross-sectional SEM images and EDS line scan results of Cu/304L joints made using impulse pressuring diffusion bonding without Ni under 520 MPa impulse pressure at 850 C for 20 min. From Fig. 7, due to the interdiffusion of Fe, Cr and Cu elements, a thin transition zone including Fe, Cr and Cu with a thickness of about 3 lm was seen in the interface. Additionally, there were some unbonded zones in the interface area. These unbonded zones might come from the original porosities and Kirkendall voids. Due to different diffusion coefcients, Micro-voids were also observed in the Cu-304 stainless steel couple produced by direct diffusion bonding without interlayer [1,16]. 3.2. Tensile strength of joint Variations in the tensile strength of the joints prepared as functions of bonding time, bonding temperature and interlayer thickness were summarized in Fig. 8. It can be seen from Fig. 8a that an increase of the bonding time caused an enhancement of the joint strength. For a short time, the tensile strength of the joint was the lowest. That is because the reaction layer is thin and there are some voids present in the interface area. As the bonding time was increased to 10 min, the reaction layer widened and the voids shrank, and thus the joint tensile strength improved to 196.9 MPa. With further increase in the bonding time to 20 min, a sound joint was made, and consequently the tensile strength was up to 217.2 MPa, which is approximately 79% of the Cu substrate strength (275 MPa) and 91% of the tensile strength of the Cu alloy subjected to high temperature exposure at 850 C, as given in Table 1. From Table 1, after exposure for 20 min at 825 C, 850 C and 875 C, the tensile strength of the copper alloy base metal was 241.5 MPa, 238.8 MPa and 233.1 MPa, respectively. As described in Ref. [22], tensile property of copper alloy reduced gradually with temperature when the treating temperatures were above the

85.22 84.19 76.10

recrystallization temperature of copper alloy. This indicates that high temperature exposure causes a decrease in the tensile strength, which makes the bond strength difcult to further improve. Fig. 8b describes the effect of bonding temperature on the tensile strength when the other parameters were kept constant. When the bonding temperature was in the range of 825850 C, strength rose as the temperature increased. At low bonding temperature, the thermal excitation of the mating surfaces might be not comparably sufcient [14]. With increasing temperature, the plastic deformation of the materials bonded could enhance and the atomic diffusivity could quicken, and then the joint strength improves. At 850 C, the tensile strength of the bond reached to a maximum value. With further increase in the temperature to 875 C, the bond strength reduced slightly, which may be attributed to the grain growth and the microstructure softening at a higher temperature. From Fig. 8c, the strength of the joint exhibited a relatively smaller value, when the interlayer thickness was 50 lm. When the thickness of the interlayer enlarges, the plastic deformation of the interlayer metal could become insufcient. This should be responsible for lower strength of joint produced using the 50 lm thickness interlayer. In the case of impulse pressuring diffusion bonding without Ni foil interlayer for 20 min, the tensile strength of the joint was about 174.2 MPa, which is obviously less than the joint strength obtained with Ni foil at the same bonding condition. The appearance of some unbonded zones may be responsible for the smaller value for impulse pressuring diffusion bonding without Ni foil interlayer. The optimum value obtained in this study is larger than the joint strength of stainless steel to Cu alloy joined using explosive welding and hot isostatically pressed bonding [23]. Additionally, Sabetghadam et al. have examined conventional diffusion bonding of a 410 stainless steel to a pure Cu using a nickel interlayer and it

Fig. 9. Typical fracture surface morphologies from the bonds conducted with Ni interlayer of 12.5 lm at 850 C for 5 min (a), 10 min (b) and 20 min (c).

364

X. Yuan et al. / Materials and Design 52 (2013) 359366

Fig. 10. Typical fracture surface morphologies from the bonds carried out with Ni interlayer of 12.5 lm for 20 min at 825 C (a) and 875 C (b).

has been reported that the bonding temperature and the holding time for obtaining the maximum value of shear strength (145 MPa) are 900 C and 60 min, respectively [14]. By contrast, the bonding temperature lowers by 50 C and the bonding time shortens to only one third of it in this paper. The achievements of high efciency and strength are possible due to impulse pressuring diffusion bonding method and Ni interlayer assistance. 3.3. Fracture characteristics Fig. 9 shows fracture surface morphologies of the specimens prepared using impulse pressuring diffusion bonding with Ni foil of 12.5 lm under 520 MPa impulse pressure at 850 C for 5, 10 and 20 min. EDS analysis results are given in Table 2. Fig. 10 describes fracture surface morphologies of the specimens produced using impulse pressuring diffusion bonding with Ni foil of

12.5 lm under 520 MPa impulse pressure for 20 min at 825 C and 875 C. Fig. 11 represents fracture surface morphologies of the specimens obtained using impulse pressuring diffusion bonding with Ni foil of 50 lm under 520 MPa impulse pressure at 850 C for 20 min. Fig. 12 exhibits fracture surface morphology of the sample made using impulse pressuring diffusion bonding without Ni foil under 520 MPa impulse pressure at 850 C for 20 min. EDS analysis results are given in Table 3.

Fig. 12. Typical fracture surface morphology from the joint performed without Ni foil at 850 C for 20 min.

Table 3 Chemical compositions (analyzed by EDS) of the micro-zones in Fig. 12. Micro-zones Elemental composition (at.%) Fe Fig. 11. Typical fracture surface morphologies from the bonds produced at 850 C for 20 min with Ni interlayer of 50 lm. Zone 1 Zone 2 30.02 4.59 Cr 8.91 Ni 3.42 Cu 57.65 95.41

X. Yuan et al. / Materials and Design 52 (2013) 359366

365

Fig. 13. Stressstrain curves upon loading during tensile testing for joints prepared with Ni interlayer of 12.5 lm at 850 C for 10 min (a) and 20 min (b).

From Fig. 9a, in the case of 5 min, failure took place along two different regions, which are termed the black and gray region (zone 1 and zone 2) and the dimple region (zone 4). According to Table 1, the black and gray region is FeNi solid solution. SEM/EDS analysis suggests that the gray solid solution (zone 1) is enriched in Ni, while the black solid solution (zone 2) is relatively depleted of Ni. This indicates that zone 1 is adjacent to the Ni interlayer and zone 2 is near to the stainless steel. Zone 4 could be regarded as CuNi solid solution based on Table 1 and this zone with a pattern of dimple reveals the fracture was plastic fracture. By comparison with the black and gray region, the area of the dimple region on the fracture surface was small. Because the low bonding temperature can cause a minimum thermal activation and the minimized extent of solute diffusion [14], the amount of CuNi solid solution formed is limited. In this condition, fracture occurred along the stainless steelNi foil interface and the Cu alloyNi foil interface. But, the proportion of plastic fracture was lower signicantly. With a subsequent increase of holding time to 10 min, lots of dimples (zone 6) and a few gray zones (zone 5) were observed on the fracture surface. On the one hand, the area of zone 6 notably increased by prolonging time and this zone is also CuNi solid solution. On the other hand, FeNi solid solution for 5 min was replaced by pure Ni gray zone. The area of zone 5 on the fracture surface was markedly smaller than that of zone 6. Zone 6 with a dimple pattern exhibited plastic fracture. By contrast, non-plastic zone 5 may be considered as a relatively weak zone. As the bonding time was prolonged to 20 min (Fig. 9c), three conclusions could be made as compared to 10 min. First, the percentage of the relatively weak zone decreased on the fracture surface. Second, almost plastic fracture was found after tensile testing. Third, the concentration of solute in CuNi solid solution increased according to Table 2. Based on the analyses of fracture surfaces, the lowest tensile strength of the joint results from the small proportion of plastic fracture occurred for 5 min. For 10 min, an increase in the area of dimple zone causes an improvement in the tensile strength. But, the strength value for 10 min is less than that for 20 min. This might be explained in the following two reasons. First, because of the presence of the relatively weak zones, crack initiation is induced preferentially in these zones. This could be conrmed by the results of Fig. 13. There are some undulate segments in the stress strain curve. These undulate segments demonstrate that cracks formed upon loading. The undulate segment corresponds to the relatively weak micro-zone. The amount of the relatively weak micro-zone for 10 min (Fig. 13a) was notably larger than that for 20 min (Fig. 13b). Second, an increase in the concentration of sol-

ute in CuNi solid solution might enhance the weldability by increasing 10 min to 20 min. From Fig. 10a, the chief character of the fracture surface was parallel striation. Some shallower gray zones exhibited dimple pattern. A reduction in the tensile strength at 825 C may result from the presence of this stripe-shaped morphology having a strong directionality. In the case of 875 C (Fig. 10b), the fracture surface was similar to the case of 850 C and had lots of dimples after tensile testing. When using the foil of 50 lm as the interlayer, the appearance of a lot of dimples conveys that the fail mode was mainly plastic fracture mode and shows marked similarities with Fig. 9c. In the case of bonding without Ni foil interlayer, it can be see from Fig. 12 that there was different morphology on the fracture surface. Fail occurred along the CuFe solid solution and the Cu alloy. The fractography of the joint conveys failure mode involved a ductile pattern and a brittle pattern. A great amount of brittle fracture area appeared on the fracture surface. Thus, the tensile strength of the joint was comparatively low. The fracture surface also included ductile fracture area and brittle fracture area and fracture took place with micro-cracks propagated from voids during diffusion bonding of Cu alloy and stainless steel without Ni interlayer [1,16]. 4. Conclusions In the present study, the effects of bonding parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints produced by impulse pressuring diffusion bonding of a copper alloy to a stainless steel were investigated. From this research, the following conclusions can be drawn: (1) The presence of Ni, acting as a transition and barrier layer, impedes the interdiffusion of Fe, Cr and Cu elements. Without Ni foil, a thin zone containing Cu, Fe and Cr with a thickness of about 3 lm was found in the interface area. (2) Diffusion bonding with impulse pressure beneted lessening micro-voids and their amount. With Ni interlayer of 12.5 lm at 850 C under 520 MPa impulse pressure, micro-voids decreased obviously and thus the tensile strength of the joint increased as function of bonding time. When the time was prolonged to 20 min, the joint strength reached up to 217.2 MPa. Fracture took place along the CuNi reaction layer and the remnant Ni layer. Additionally, a great number of dimples convey that almost plastic fracture was found after tensile testing.

366

X. Yuan et al. / Materials and Design 52 (2013) 359366 [4] Leedy KD, Stubbins JF. Copper alloy-stainless steel bonded laminates for fusion reactor application: crack growth and fatigue. Mater Sci Eng A 2001;297:1925. [5] Roy RK, Singh S, Gunjan MK, Panda AK, Mitra A. Joining of 304SS and pure copper by rapidly solidied Cu-based braze alloy. Fusion Eng Des 2011;86:4525. [6] Yao C, Xu B, Zhang X, Huang J, Fu J, Wu Y. Interface microstructure and mechanical properties of laser welding coppersteel dissimilar joint. Opt Laser Eng 2009;47:80714. [7] Sun Z, Karppi R. The application of electron beam welding for the joining of dissimilar metals: an overview. J Mater Process Technol 1996;59:25767. [8] Magnabosco I, Ferro P, Bonollo F, Arnberg L. An investigation of fusion zone microstructures in electron beam welding of copperstainless steel. Mater Sci Eng A 2006;424:16373. [9] Phanikumar G, Manjini S, Dutta P, Mazumder J, Chattopadhyay K. Characterization of a continuous CO2 laser-welded FeCu dissimilar couple. Metall Mater Trans A 2005;36:213747. [10] Jayabharath K, Ashfaq M, Venugopal P, Achar DRG. Investigations on the continuous drive friction welding of sintered powder metallurgical (P/M) steel and wrought copper parts. Mater Sci Eng A 2007;454455:11423. [11] Tsuchiya K, Kawamura H. Mechanical properties of CuCrZr Alloy and SS316 joints fabricated by friction welding method. J Nucl Mater 1996;233 237:9137. [12] Durgutlu A, Glen B, Findik F. Examination of copper/stainless steel joints formed by explosive welding. Mater Des 2005;26:497507. [13] Durgutlu A, Okuyucu H, Gulenc B. Investigation of effect of the stand-off distance on interface characteristics of explosively welded copper and stainless steel. Mater Des 2008;29:14804. [14] Sabetghadam H, Zarei Hanzaki A, Araee A. Diffusion bonding of 410 stainless steel to copper using a nickel interlayer. Mater Charact 2010;61:62634. [15] Nishi H, Araki T, Eto M. Diffusion bonding of alumina dispersion-strengthened copper to 316 stainless steel with interlayer metals. Fusion Eng Des 1998;39 40:50511. [16] Yilmaz O, Aksoy M. Investigation of micro-crack occurrence conditions in diffusion bonded Cu-304 stainless steel couple. J Mater Process Technol 2002;121:13642. [17] Batra IS, Kale GB, Saha TK, Ray AK, Derose J, Krishnan J. Diffusion bonding of a CuCr-Zr alloy to stainless steel and tungsten using nickel as an interlayer. Mater Sci Eng A 2004;369:11923. [18] Ziegelheim J, Hiraki S, Ohsaw H. Diffusion bondability of similar/dissimilar light metal sheets. J Mater Process Technol 2007;186:8793. [19] Yuan XJ, Sheng GM, Qin B, Huang WZ, Zhou B. Impulse pressuring diffusion bonding of titanium alloy to stainless steel. Mater Charact 2008;59:9306. [20] Han J, Sheng GM, Zhou XL, Sun JX. Pulse pressuring diffusion bonding of Ti alloy/austenite stainless steel processed by surface self-nanocrystallization. ISIJ Int 2009;49:8691. [21] Kundu S, Chatterjee S. Characterization of diffusion bonded joint between titanium and 304 stainless steel using a Ni interlayer. Mater Charact 2008;59:6317. [22] ASM Handbook, vol. 4. Heat treating. OH: ASM, International; 1991. [23] Stubbins JF, Kurath P, Drockelman D, Morgan GD, McAFee J, Li G, et al. Analysis of copper alloy to stainless steel bonded panels for ITER rst wall applications. Conf Proc 16th IEEE/NPSS Symp Fusion Eng 1995;1:1747.

(3) With Ni interlayer of 12.5 lm under 520 MPa impulse pressure for 20 min, the joint strength experienced a hill-shaped curve change from 825 C to 875 C. At a lower temperature, the thermal excitation of the mating surfaces and the plastic deformation of the materials may be not comparably sufcient. At a higher temperature, the grain growth and the microstructure softening might result in the slight reduction of the bond strength. (4) Using Ni interlayer of 50 lm at 850 C under 520 MPa impulse pressure for 20 min, lower strength of the joint should be attributed to the insufcient plastic deformation of the interlayer metal due to larger thickness of the interlayer. (5) Without Ni foil, under the same bonding condition, the existence of some unbonded zones in the joint area brought out relatively lower tensile strength (174.2 MPa). The fractography indicates that failure mode included a ductile pattern and a brittle pattern, and lots of brittle fracture areas were present on the fracture surface. (6) After high temperature exposure, the tensile strength of the copper alloy reduced obviously. The decrease in the tensile strength makes the bond strength difcult to further increase.

Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the nancial support provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51205428) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Project No.: CDJZR12130047). References
[1] Yilmaz O, elik H. Electrical and thermal properties of the interface at diffusion-bonded and soldered 304 stainless steel and copper bimetal. J Mater Process Technol 2003;141:6776. [2] Rowcliffe AF, Zinkle SJ, Stubbins JF, Edwards DJ, Alexander DJ. Austenitic stainless steels and high strength copper alloys for fusion components. J Nucl Mater 1998;258263:18392. [3] Leedy KD, Stubbins JF. Copper alloy-stainless steel bonded laminates for fusion reactor application: tensile strength and microstructure. Mater Sci Eng A 2001;297:108.