SHS Joining of Aluminum Conductors in the Presence of Copper

Abstract

Aluminum conductors joining is an important issue in electric transportation industry. In some conditions, electric arc welding or friction stir welding could not be used to join these conductors due to environmental conditions, lack of welding tools, etc. In these cases, SHS method can be used as an appropriate process. In this work, two aluminum conductors (with 9.3-mm diameter and 125-mm length) were joined by SHS method. The conductors were made of commercially pure aluminum (Al > 99%) and, to enhance the joint strength, different weight percentages of copper (0.73–2.4 wt %) were added to green blends. The joints were characterized by hardness testing, electrical resistance, and optical metallography. With increasing Cu percentage, the electrical conductivity of the joint was found to decrease while the strength and hardness, to increase. In the presence of copper, the grain size of the join material was found to decrease.