Ian McCue
Northwestern University
This project is focused on developing high-performance transient liquid phase bonding strategies between Nitinol (a shape memory alloy) and dissimilar materials (e.g., steels and titanium alloys) to enable its use in extreme aerospace applications. The primary objectives of this research are to understand atomic diffusion during bonding, and ultimately control phase formation to produce strong and tough joints. In particular, this project will: design interlayer compositions, tailored throughout their thickness, to avoid brittle phase formation; determine interlayer formulations that minimize fabrication cost and bonding time; and, most importantly, demonstrate this process can be scaled to free-standing interlayer foils that are relevant for commercial use. The insights gained from this project can be applied to any dissimilar material joining (or layer-by-layer) process where intermetallic formation and cracking is a concern.