A simple test to determine the effectiveness of different braze compositions for joining Ti-tubes to C/C composite plates

A simple tube-plate joint tensile test was implemented to compare the effectiveness of commercial brazes, namely, TiCuNi, TiCuSil, and Cu-ABA, used for bonding Ti-tubes joined to C-C composite plates. The different braze systems yielded different; yet, repeatable results. The Cu-ABA system proved to have about twice the load-carrying ability of the other two systems due to the fact that the bonded area between the braze material and the C-C plate was largest for this system. The orientation of the surface fiber tows also had a significant effect on load-carrying ability with tows oriented perpendicular to the tube axis displaying the highest failure loads. Increasing the process load and modifying the surface of the C-C plate by grooving out channels for the Ti-Tube to nest in resulted in increased load-carrying ability for the TiCuSil and Cu-ABA systems due to increased bonded area and better penetration of the braze material into the C-C composite.