ARTICLE:

• Non-Equilibrium Diffusion-Controlled Melting and Re-Solidification of Thin Metal Layers on a Reactive Substrate  download article

Hui Zhao
Department of Mechanical Engineering and University of Kentucky Center for Manufacturing, College of Engineering, Lexington, KY 40506, USA

Dusan P. Sekulic
Department of Mechanical Engineering and University of Kentucky Center for Manufacturing, College of Engineering, Lexington, KY 40506, USA

ABSTRACT

The paper offers an approach to a prediction of the residue formation inherent to melting of micro layers of molten aluminum alloy and a subsequent reactive flow governed by surface tension.
The phenomenon studied is associated with materials' processing during controlled atmosphere brazing of aluminum. The model assumes that a non-equilibrium diffusion of Silicon, present in an Al + Si clad of a brazing sheet, has a two-fold role. First, a solid state Si diffusion prior to melting and across the clad-core interface of a composite brazing sheet takes place. Concurrently and subsequently, Si diffusion within clad controls the melting process. Both processes are essential for clad residue formation. The approach advocated in this paper leads to a prediction of the residue formation through a modeling of the non-equilibrium diffusion-controlled melting. A heuristic interpretation of physical mechanisms was discussed and a related mathematical model devised. The model was solved numerically in terms of Si concentration distributions for a moving boundary problem and corroborated with empirical data. Empirical data were gathered using an experimental controlled atmosphere brazing facility.
The results of the modeling and their corroboration with the experimental data indicate a strong dependence of residue formations on the pre-melting state of the clad, in particular on the grain size within Al-clad matrix. A good agreement between numerically predicted residue mass and experimental findings is documented in detail.

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217-222 pages

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