A Study on Solid State Welding of Aerospace Materials

Since solid state welding is formed from an intimate contact between two metals at temperatures below the melting point of the base materials, the structural integrity of welded zone is maintained without presence of foreign materials or temporary liquid phase. This paper provides some of examples for solid state joining of aerospace materials. Diffusion bonding process was developed for a titanium alloy for lightweight sandwich panels. Diffusion bonding of copper and stainless steel was also demonstrated to manufacture a combustion chamber. HIP (Hot Isostatic Press) bonding and friction stir welding process of aluminum alloy was developed in order to study possible application for a large launcher fuel tank. It is shown that solid state joining processes can be successfully applied to various aerospace materials and provide innovative solution for lightweight structures.