Study of Diffusion Bonding Parameters of AISI 316L Stainless Steel

Diffusion bonding process is a solid state joining technique capable of joining two flat metal surfaces by diffusion of atoms in the contact interface, without the use of addition metal. This process can bond large areas with a high mechanical strength at the bonded interfaces, allowing the equipment to operate at high working pressures, which is an essential characteristic in applications involving mini and micro channels, such as compact heat exchangers and reactors. The present work focus on the study of the influence of the main welding parameters: temperature, pressure and time, in the join of stainless steel AISI 316L/316L plates, in addition to finding the set of parameters that present the best union results. In total, 9 sets of parameters were studied. The samples were evaluated by tensile tests and microstructural analysis of the bonding interface. A sample of the base metal was used as the standard for comparison. Based on the tensile test results, it was verified that the temperature parameter presented the highest influence on the bond quality, and that the samples produced at 1040 degrees C temperature level showed mechanical strength of the same order of the base material.