Journal of Materials Processing Technology 190 (2007) 312–316

Investigation on reactive diffusion bonding of SiCp/6063 MMC

by using mixed powders as interlayers
Ji-hua Huang ∗ , Yue-ling Dong, Yun Wan, Xing-ke Zhao, Hua Zhang
School of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Science & Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Received 31 July 2004; received in revised form 26 June 2006; accepted 12 February 2007

Abstract
Mixed Al–Si, Al–Cu and Al–Si–SiC powders were used as interlayers to reactive diffusion bond SiCp/6063 MMC. The microstructure and the
effects of bonding parameters on the shear strength of SiCp/6063 MMC joints were investigated. The results show that SiCp/6063 MMC joints
bonded by using the interlayers of mixed Al–Si, Al–Cu powders have a dense joining layer of high quality. The mass transfer between the bonded
materials and the interlayers during bonding leads to the hypoeutectic microstructure of the joining layers. Using mixed Al–Si–SiC powder as an
interlayer, SiCp/6063 MMC can be reactive diffusion bonded by a composite joint. Because of the SiC segregation, however, there are a number
of porous zones in the joining layer. This is responsible for the low shear strength of the joints, even lower than those reactive diffusion bonded
by using the interlayers of mixed Al–Si and Al–Cu powders. Ti added in the interlayer obviously improves the joint strength reactive diffusion
bonded by using the mixed Al–Si–SiC powder.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Reactive diffusion bonding; Interlayer; SiCp/Al MMCs

1. Introduction
SiCp reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites (SiCp
/Al MMCs) have a unique combination of mechanical and
physical properties, such as high specific strength and specific
modulus of elasticity, low thermal expansion coefficient and
good wear resistance. They are widely used in aerospace engi-
neering, automotive industry, electronic packaging and medical
appliances. Joining is an important process for these industrial
applications of SiCp/Al MMCs. Up to now, the majority of join-
ing processes have been investigated to join SiCp/Al MMCs,
including fusion welding [1–6], diffusion bonding [7,8] and
brazing [9,10]. Because of the specific characteristics in com-
position and microstructure, however, SiCp/Al MMCs display
a poor join-ability. In fusion welding (TIG, MIG, EBW, LBW,
etc.), the reinforcing SiC particles with high fusion point cause
the melten pool to be viscous and have a poor fluidity, and some
weld defects, such as incomplete backfill, slag inclusions, blow
holes and SiC segregations to be liable to form in welded joints.
Moreover, serious reaction between Al matrix and SiC particles
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 10 62334859; fax: +86 10 62327283.
E-mail address: jihuahuang47@sina.com (J.-h. Huang).
will occur in the melten pool [1–6,11]. Diffusion bonding can
join materials without melting them during bonding. It should
be an effective joining process for the heterogeneous compos-
ite materials, especially the ceramic particle reinforced metal
matrix composites like the SiCp/Al MMCs. Unfortunately, the
stable aluminium oxide film and the exposed SiC particles on
surface of the composites hinder atom diffusion and interfacial
bonding during diffusion bonding. The direct solid diffusion
bonding of SiCp/Al MMCs is verified to be difficult. As for the
brazing of SiCp/Al MMCs, a fatal weakness is the low strength
of the brazed joints.
An effective method for joining of SiCp/Al MMCs is the pro-
cess called reactive diffusion bonding (RDB) or reactive brazing
(RB), which is also classified as transient liquid phase diffu-
sion bonding (TLP) by some investigations [12,13]. In the strict
sense, however, there is a difference between RDB and the com-
mon TLP in the way obtaining the liquid phase during bonding.
Usually, TLP obtains the liquid phase by an insert alloy layer
with a low fusion point, while, RDB is based on eutectic reac-
tions, during which the liquid phase forms from the eutectic
reaction between the interlayer and the material to be bonded or
the elements in the interlayer. In RDB and TLP, the liquid phase
can hasten mass transfer at the interface between the bonded
material and the interlayer. Additionally, the eutectic reaction

0924-0136/$ – see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2007.02.028
 J.-h. Huang et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 190 (2007) 312–316
during RDB is beneficial to removing the oxide film on the sur-
faces of the bonded materials. Therefore, SiCp/Al MMCs can
be joined by RDB under the condition of lower temperature and
pressure. Until now, however, only the metal interlayers in the
shape of foil, such as Cu foil, Ag foil, have been investigated to
reactive diffusion bond SiCp/Al MMCs [12]. Generally, there is
a no-composite zone in the joints of RDB by metal interlayers in
the shape of foil, which obviously differs from the bonded com-
posites in microstructure and mechanical properties. In addition,
the foil metal interlayers have limitations on the structures to be
bonded, being only suitable to bonding some simple structures.
In order to explore a possible RDB process to surmount
the limitations of the foil metal interlayers, and bond SiCp/Al
MMCs by a joint with the mechanical properties, even with the
composite microstructure similar to the bonded materials, in this
investigation, mixed Al–Si, Al–Cu, Al–Si–SiC powders were
employed to replace the foil metals as interlayers for reactive
diffusion bonding of SiCp/Al MMCs. SiC powder was added
into the interlayer as reinforcing phase to obtain a composite
joint. Si and Cu were used as the eutectic reaction elements for
RDB because Si and Cu are common alloying elements in alu-
minium alloys. In addition, the Si in the liquid phase formed
by the eutectic reaction during RDB is helpful in alleviating the
interfacial reaction between Al matrix and SiC particles [2].
2. Experimental
The composite material to be bonded in this investigation was 15 vol%SiCp
reinforced 6063 aluminium alloy matrix composite (SiCp/6063 MMC), which
was cut into 15 mm × 10 mm × 5 mm. The particle sizes of the Al, Si and
Cu powders as the reactive constituents, and the SiC powder as reinforcing
phase of the joining layer were −200 mesh, −200 mesh, −300 mesh and 5 ␮m,
respectively. The Al, Si, Cu and SiC powders were mixed with ethanol to
prepare slurries of 87.4 wt%Al + 12.6 wt%Si, 66.8 wt%Al + 33.2 wt%Cu and
(87.4 wt%Al + 12.6 wt%Si) + (8–10) vol%SiC, respectively. The interlayers for
bonding were prepared by coating the slurries on the surfaces of the SiCp/6063
MMC samples to be bonded. The reactive diffusion bonding was performed at
580–605 ◦ C for 15–120 min under conditions of a pressure of 3 × 10−3 MPa and
a vacuum of 3.8 × 10−9 MPa.
Fig. 1. SEM micrographs of a typical SiCp/6063 MMC joint reactive diffusion bonded by using the interlayer of the mixed Al–Si powder: (a) low magnification
view and (b) high magnification view.
313
3. Results and discussion
Fig. 1 is the SEM micrographs (back-scattered electron
images) of a typical SiCp/6063 MMC joint reactive diffusion
bonded by using the interlayer of the mixed Al–Si powder. It is
clear that a dense joint is formed by the eutectic reaction of Al
and Si during bonding, and the interfaces between the bonded
materials and the joining layer have a good bond. The joining
layer shows a typical hypoeutectic microstructure, which indi-
cates that besides the Al added as the reactive constituents of
the interlayer, some Al from the bonded composites dissolves
into the joining layer. The back-scattered SEM images in Fig. 2
show a SiCp/6063 MMC joint of high quality reactive diffu-
sion bonded by using the interlayer of the mixed Al–Cu powder.
The hypoeutectic microstructure and the distribution of the ele-
ments in the joining layer (as shown in Fig. 2b) reveal an intense
mass transfer between the bonded materials and the interlayer
during bonding, Cu diffuses from the interlayer to the bonded
materials, and Al form the bonded materials dissolves into the
interlayer. Fig. 3 gives the back-scattered SEM micrographs of
a typical reactive diffusion bonded SiCp/6063 MMC joint by
using the interlayer of the mixed Al–Si–SiC powder. The low
magnification view ‘a’ shows that the mixed Al–Si–SiC powder
has reacted to form a composite joint. Within the joining layer,
however, there are a number of porous zones, which are demon-
strated to result from the SiC segregation, as shown in the high
magnification view of Fig. 3b.
The effects of bonding temperature and time on the shear
strength of the SiCp/6063 MMC joints reactive diffusion bonded
by using the interlayers of the mixed Al–Si, Al–Cu and
Al–Si–SiC powders are shown in Fig. 4. In this investigation,
the joints reactive diffusion bonded by using the interlayer of
the mixed Al–Si powder are shown to have the highest shear
strength. The segregation of SiC particles and formation of the
porous zones in the joining layer lead to the low shear strength
of the joints reactive diffusion bonded by using the interlayer
of the mixed Al–Si–SiC powder, even lower than those reac-
tive diffusion bonded by the interlayers of the mixed Al–Si and
314 J.-h. Huang et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 190 (2007) 312–316

Fig. 2. SEM micrographs of a typical SiCp/6063 MMC joint reactive diffusion bonded by using the interlayer of the mixed Al-Cu powder: (a) low magnification
view, (b) distribution of the elements in the joining layer and (c) high magnification view.

Al–Cu powders. Under the condition of fixed bonding time, the
shear strengths of the joints bonded by using all the interlay-
ers of mixed Al–Si, Al–Cu and Al–Si–SiC powders increase as
bonding temperature rises, but get maxima at bonding tempera-
ture 600 ◦ C. Under the condition of fixed bonding temperature,
however, the shear strength variation of the joints reactive
diffusion bonded by using the interlayer of the mixed Al–Si–SiC
powder with bonding time shows a slight difference to the joints
by using the interlayers of the mixed Al–Si and Al–Cu powders.
As bonding time increases, the shear strength of the joints by
the interlayer of the mixed Al–Si–SiC powder monotonically
increases, while the joints by the interlayers of the mixed Al–Si
and Al–Cu powders have maximum shear strengths at bonding
time 90 min.

Fig. 3. SEM micrographs of a typical SiCp/6063 MMC joint reactive diffusion bonded by using the interlayer of the mixed Al–Si–SiC powder: (a) low magnification
view and (b) high magnification view.
 J.-h. Huang et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 190 (2007) 312–316 315

Fig. 4. The shear strengths of the joints reactive diffusion bonded by using the interlayers of the mixed Al–Si, Al–Cu and Al–Si–SiC powders vs. bonding parameters:
(a) bonding temperature for bonding time 90 min and (b) bonding time at bonding temperature 595 ◦ C.

Fig. 5. SEM micrographs of a typical SiCp/6063 MMC joint reactive diffusion bonded by using the interlayer of the mixed Al–Si–SiC–Ti powder: (a) low magnification
view and (b) high magnification view.

The SiC segregation is considered to be related to the poor of the mixed Al–Si–SiC powder, the joint bonded by using the
wettability of SiC for liquid aluminium base alloys. In fact, the interlayer of the mixed Al–Si–SiC–Ti powder has an obvious
poor wettability of SiC has been one of the problems for prepara- increase in shear strength. This indicates that the Ti added in
tion of SiCp reinforced aluminium metal matrix composites. In the interlayer of the mixed Al–Si–SiC powder are favorable for
order to improve the wettability of SiC for the liquid Al–Si alloy improving joint strength.
formed by the eutectic reaction during bonding, thus improv- In conclusion, the reactive diffusion bonding process by
ing the microstructure of the joining layer and the properties of using the interlayer of mixed Al–Si–SiC powder promises to
the joints, in this investigation, Ti (<3 wt%) powder was added join SiCp/Al MMCs by a joint with the mechanical properties
to the interlayer. Fig. 5 shows the back-scattered SEM images and/or microstructure similar to the bonded materials. The crux
of a typical SiCp/6063 MMC joint reactive diffusion bonded is how to improve the wettability of SiC for the liquid formed
by using the interlayer of the mixed Al–Si–SiC–Ti powder. It by the eutectic reaction during bonding. Modifying the surface
can be seen from the low magnification view (a) that a dense of SiC by coating or the liquid by adding elements should be
joining layer forms between the two bonded materials, and no effective for obtaining a RDB SiCp/Al MMCs joint with SiC
obvious SiC segregation is found in it. The high magnification well-distributed composite microstructure.
view of Fig. 5b combining with electron-probe microanalyses
as shown in Table 1 reveals that besides dissolving in Al and Table 1
combining with Al to form Ti–Al intermetallics, a small amount EPMA composition of the characteristic zones in Fig. 5 (wt%)
of the Ti powder added into the interlayer remains as pure Ti
Al Si Ti C
in the joining layer. The shear strengths of SiCp/6063 MMC
joints bonded at 595 ◦ C for 90 min by using the interlayers of Zone A 97.07 2.10 0.92 –
Zone B 48.41 11.42 36.14 4.30
the Al–Si, Al–Cu, Al–Si–SiC and Al–Si–SiC–Ti are shown in
Zone C – 0.88 99.12 –
Fig. 6. As compared to the joint bonded by using the interlayer
316 J.-h. Huang et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 190 (2007) 312–316
Fig. 6. Shear strengths of the SiCp/6063 MMC joints bonded by using the
interlayers of Al–Si, Al–Cu, Al–Si–SiC and Al–Si–SiC–Ti (595 ◦ C for 90 min).
4. Conclusions
(1) The SiCp/6063 MMC joints bonded by using the interlayers
of the mixed Al–Si and Al–Cu powders have a dense joining
layer of high quality. The mass transfer between the bonded
materials and the interlayers during bonding leads to the
hypoeutectic microstructure of the joining layers.
(2) Using mixed Al–Si–SiC powder as an interlayer, SiCp/6063
MMC can be reactive diffusion bonded by a composite joint.
Because of the SiC segregation, however, there are a number
of porous zones in the joining layer. This results in the low
shear strength of the joints, even lower than those reactive
diffusion bonded by using the interlayers of the mixed Al–Si
and Al–Cu powders.
(3) In general, under the condition of fixed bonding time (tem-
perature), the shear strengths of the joints by using the
interlayers of the mixed Al–Si, Al–Cu and Al–Si–SiC pow-
ders have maxima at bonding temperature 600 ◦ C (time
90 min).
(4) Ti added in the interlayer obviously improves the joint
strength reactive diffusion bonded by using the interlayer
of mixed Al–Si–SiC powder.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (No. 50175004).
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