EFFECT OF DIFFUSION ANNEALING ON PROPERTIES OF TI/304L STAINLESS STEEL EXPLOSION CLAD

In this study, commercially pure titanium/304L stainless steel explosion bonded clads have been annealed under argon atmosphere over the temperature range of 700-900°C for 1h.Microstructure of the clads have been investigated before and after anealing. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the annealing products in the form of intermetallic phases were gradually formed at the interface of the annealed clads. It was also found that, the bonding zone width increased with temperature according to an Arrhenius type equation. On the base of this equation, the activation energy of bonding zone growth was found equal to about 66.5 kJ/mol. The bond strength of the diffusion annealed clads were evaluated stress relieved. The maximum average tensile strength of ~350MPa was obtained for the as-welded clad. It was found that the bond strength decreased with annealing at 700°C due to an increase in the width of brittle intermetallic layer.