Fatigue properties of laser-brazed joints of Dual Phase and TRansformation Induced Plasticity steel with a copper–aluminium consumable

High strength steels combine good formability with excellent mechanical properties and have developed continuously in recent years. Joining these materials is however increasingly difficult as fusion joining processes destroy the carefully constructed microstructure. To counteract this problem, joining processes which require less heat input have been investigated. Laser brazing is a relatively new technique and a potential candidate which has found application in the automotive industry. In this paper the fatigue lifetime properties of laser-brazed Dual Phase (DP600) and TRansformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP700) steel joints made with a copper–aluminium consumable are reported. Joints created with DP600 steel showed fracture through the steel due to a brass present in the stress concentration region at the edge of the reinforcement. TRIP700 steels show similar results if the applied maximum stress is in excess of 280 MPa. However, at maximum stresses of 230 MPa, failure occurred across the interface between the braze metal and the steel. A basic fatigue crack path model is presented for the two competing failure mechanisms.