Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Bonding characteristics and interfacial microstructures in explosively welded Ti/stainless steel clad of the as-welded and annealed states were investigated. In case of Ti/SUS430 ferritic stainless steel combination, the average shear strength of an as-welded clad was 555 MPa, and metastable phases such as amorphous and fine crystalline phases were observed at the interface. These were considered to be the trace of melting and subsequently rapid solidification at the contact surface of both the parent materials. By annealing below 1173 K, the strength gradually decreased with increasing holding time. The average shear strength of the clad annealed at 1073 K for 360 ks was 242 MPa, while that of the clad annealed at 1273 K abruptly decreased down to 107 MPa with increasing holding time up to 360 ks. The reaction layer formed at the interface consisted only of TiC in the former. On the other hand, the coexistence of TiC, TiFe, TiFe2 and χ was observed at the interface in the latter. The TiC in the former was considered to serve as a barrier for diffusion of Ti, Fe and Cr across the interface and to suppress the formation of intermetallic compounds. As a result, the growth of reaction layer was inhibited and high bonding strength was preserved even after prolonged annealing. The results of the Combination of Ti and SUS304 austenitic stainless steel were also discussed.