Peculiarities of forming diffusion bimetallic joints of aluminum foam with a monolithic magnesium alloy

The work is carried out to determine an optimal method to obtain the welded bimetallic joints of monolithic Mg-alloy with porous Al-alloy using gallium as chemical activator and heating up to 300 °C by two different methods: long-term in vacuum oven and short-term without vacuum by passing of low voltage current. There is no microstructure change in Al-foam but indentation test records the negligible reduction of the mechanical properties. SEM showed the crystallization of two types of Mg5Ga2 and Mg2Ga inter-metallic phases in the wavy uneven diffusion zone on Mg-alloy side with significant increase of micro-hardness and Young's modulus. The narrow depth of the diffusion zone takes place in joints by short-term heating, so this method is more applicable for welding of monolithic and porous alloys at chemical activation using gallium.