Suppression of Carbon Diffusion in the Fabrication of High-Quality Ti–Steel Heterostructure: Interfacial Design, Microstructure, and Mechanical Property
摘要
Effective strategies to control the detrimental diffusion of carbon (C) during the fabrication of high-quality titanium (Ti)–steel heterostructures remain limited. Herein, TA2 commercially pure Ti–vanadium (V)/copper (Cu)/nickel (Ni)–high-carbon 85 steel joints were fabricated via vacuum diffusion bonding. Within the 840 °C to 920 °C range, V/Cu/Ni multi-interlayers with thickness of 50/20/20 and 50/20/10 μm were found to effectively suppress C diffusion. No carbide-enriched layers were observed at the interfaces, and interfacial compatibility was enhanced. For joints with the 50/20/10 μm interlayer configuration, the tensile strength gradually increased with bonding temperature. At 840 °C, the joint achieved a maximum tensile strength of 414 MPa, corresponding to a joint efficiency of 90 pct. At temperatures above 880 °C, the tensile strength of the joints exceeded that of the post-weld TA2 base material, with a corresponding joint efficiency of over 94 pct. Interfacial microstructural analysis revealed that the interfaces predominantly comprised substitutional solid solutions rather than brittle intermetallic compounds. Owing to the thin diffusion layer and relatively high interfacial energy at the V/Cu interface, this region serves as the preferential site for crack initiation. The proposed diffusion-control strategy provides a theoretical basis for the fabrication of high-quality Ti–steel composite structures.