A Primary Study of Torch Brazing Pure Aluminum with Al-Si-Ge-Zn Solders

Based on the difficulty to accurately control temperature for torch brazing, the study is concerned with developing low-melting-point solders for brazing pure aluminum. For this purpose, Ge and Zn have been chosen to be added to Al-Si-based alloy. The melting characteristic, wetting property of solders with Al and mechanical property of the brazed joints were investigated. The results show that the addition of 10 wt. % germanium into the traditional Al-12Si (wt. %) filler metal causes its liquidus temperature to decrease by about 23 °C. An addition of 30 % zinc into such Al-Si-Ge ternary alloy will cause its liquidus temperature to drop further to 525 °C. The solders have good wettability with Al. With the increase of Zn content in the alloys, the spreading areas of solders exhibit nonlinear decrease, and there exist a very large value at the zinc content of 15%. When Al-Si-10Ge-30Zn solder was used to braze the pure aluminum, an optimized bonding strength of 116 MPa was achieved.