PROGRESS IN JOINING OF ADVANCED MATERIALS - PART 2 - JOINING OF METAL-MATRIX COMPOSITES AND JOINING OF OTHER ADVANCED MATERIALS

Advanced materials generally require novel joining techniques. Develop ments in new materials research should be conducted hand in hand with work on weldability and joining capacity aspects. Sound joint quality for any new material has always been considered a milestone in a resea rch and development scheme for a new material, particularly in terms o f widespread applications. Better understanding of the microstructure- mechanical properties relationships of the bonded or welded joints wil l feed back to the materials development activities both in convention al and new materials areas. The two joining processes diffusion bondin g and laser welding are considered in this literature review, since th ese processes are capable of joining a wide range of materials of inte rest in the aerospace industry, as well as in many other industrial ap plications, and offer remarkable advantages over conventional fusion w elding processes. Of particular interest is the ability to join the mo ve difficult aerospace alloys with minimal component distortion and hi gh reproducibility of joint quality. The purpose of the review is to o utline progress made in this area and to make suggestions for future w ork. Part 1 (STWJ, 1998, 3, (3), 105-126) dealt with solid state joini ng, fusion joining, and joining of intermetallics, while Part 2 covers joining of metal matrix composites and joining of other advanced mate rials.