Study on modalities and microdefects of Al-Cu bimetallic tube by underwater explosive cladding

Abstract In this study, a screwed copper tube was cladded an aluminum tube by a new explosive cladding method. To study the modalities of the bonding interface, a light microscope was used to observe the bonding interface. To expose the weak position of the interface, a three-point bending test was conducted under extreme condition. Then the BSE (Backscattering Electron) images of the bent interfaces were obtained. Meanwhile, the EDS (Energy Dispersive Spectrometry) analyses of the melted zone were performed. The results of the light microscopic observations show that there are four bonding modalities on the interface. They can be summarized to two bonding modalities: direct bonding and bonding with the melted zone. There are no macro cracks on the interface of the bent specimens, which represents a reliable joining generally. The elastic modulus of Al-Cu bimetallic tube along the axial direction is 85.2Gpa. The BSE images, the EDS analyses and the microhardness tests show the direct bonding with some characteristics of the micro wavy interface is a pretty nice bonding pattern. The melted zone composed of CuAl2 is a weak bonding pattern, which may affect the mechanical property of the joint.