BRAZING

a. General.

(1) Brazing is a group of welding processes which produces coalescence of materials by heating to a suitable temperature and using a filler metal having a liquidus above 840°F (449°C) and below the solidus of the base metals. The filler metal is distributed between the closely fitted surfaces of the joint by capillary attraction. Brazing is distinguished from soldering in that soldering employs a filler metal having a liquidus below 840°F (449°C).

(2) When brazing with silver alloy filler metals (silver soldering), the alloys have liquidus temperatures above 840°F (449°C).

(3) Brazing must meet each of three criteria:

(a) The parts must be joined without melting the base metals.

(b) The filler metal must have a liquidus temperature above 840°F (449°C).

(c) The filler metal must wet the base metal surfaces and be drawn onto or held in the joint by capillary attraction.

(4) Brazing is not the same as braze welding, which uses a brazing filler metal that is melted and deposited in fillets and grooves exactly at the points it is to be used. The brazing filler metal also is distributed by capillary action. Limited base metal fusion may occur in braze welding.

(5) To achieve a good joint using any of the various brazing processes, the parts must be properly cleaned and protected by either flux or the atmosphere during heating to prevent excessive oxidation. The parts must provide a capillary for the filler metal when properly aligned, and a heating process must be selected that will provide proper brazing temperatures and heat distribution.

b. Principles.

(1) Capillary flow is the most important physical principle which ensures good brazements providing both adjoining surfaces molten filler metal. The joint must also be properly spaced to permit efficient capillary action and resulting coalescence. More specifically, capillarity is a result of surface tension between base metal(s), filler metal, flux or atmosphere, and the contact angle between base and filler metals. In actual practice, brazing filler metal flow characteristics are also influenced by considerations involving fluidity, viscosity, vapor pressure, gravity, and by the effects of any metallurgical reactions between the filler and base metals.

(2) The brazed joint, in general, is one of a relatively large area and very small thickness. In the simplest application of the process, the surfaces to be joined are cleaned to remove contaminants and oxide. Next, they are coated with flux or a material capable of dissolving solid metal oxides present and preventing new oxidation. The joint area is then heated until the flux melts and cleans the base metals, which are protected against further oxidation by the liquid flux layer.

(3) Brazing filler metal is then melted at some point on the surface of the joint area. Capillary attraction is much higher between the base and filler metals than that between the base metal and flux. Therefore, the flux is removed by the filler metal. The joint, upon cooling to room temperature, will be filled with solid filler metal. The solid flux will be found on the joint surface.

(4) High fluidity is a desirable characteristic of brazing filler metal because capillary attraction may be insufficient to cause a viscous filler metal to run into tight fitting joints.

(5) Brazing is sometimes done with an active gas, such as hydrogen, or in an inert gas or vacuum. Atmosphere brazing eliminates the necessity for post cleaning and ensures absence of corrosive mineral flux residue. Carbon steels, stainless steels, and super alloy components are widely processed in atmospheres of reacted gases, dry hydrogen, dissociated ammonia, argon, and vacuum. Large vacuum furnaces are used to braze zirconium, titanium, stainless steels, and the refractory metals. With good processing procedures, aluminum alloys can also be vacuum furnace brazed with excellent results.

(6) Brazing is a process preferred for making high strength metallurgical bonds and preserving needed base metal properties because it is economical.