Joining of Titanium and Stainless-Steel Rods with an Interlayer Using an Eco-Friendly Welding Process for Automobile Applications

Solid rods of dissimilar metals are easily welded by friction welding. This process is a solid-state process where no fumes or gases are released which is friendly to the environment. In advanced engineering practice, joining Titanium (Ti) alloy and stainless steel (SS) is very important due to poor bonding strength in direct joining. These materials are easily joined by an interlayer technique using materials like nickel, silver, niobium, aluminum, and copper. Special surface geometry techniques hold the interlayer materials between dissimilar metals in different forms like coating, foils, and solid metals. In this investigation, the finite element method is used for modeling the process, and the Johnson-cook equation was used to find the analysis of output values with the defined material properties. The heat generated is calculated and numerically compared and analyzed with experimental results. Observations such as metallography, hardness, and tensile test were studied. The results are best suitable for the optimization of future design and improvement. It's important to note that while friction welding is a promising option, it's always recommended to perform feasibility studies and conduct tests on representative samples to ensure that the joint's mechanical properties meet the required standards for automobile applications like ball link joint, piston rod, air compressor piston, ball screw, butterfly valve, clutch hub, steering rack gear, trailer axles, etc. A maximum temperature of 11500C was observed at the interface and the highest tensile strength of 348MPa was obtained.