Effect of wire brushing on warm roll bonding of 6XXX/5XXX/6XXX aluminum alloy

Three-layered 6XXX/5XXX/6XXX aluminum alloy clad sheets were fabricated by warm roll bonding and the effect of wire brushing on the threshold reduction and bonding strength was studied. When the sheets were wire-brushed before rolling, the threshold reduction for successful bonding was reduced, and bonding strengths were lower than those of the non-brushed sheets. The difference between the threshold reduction of the brushed and non-brushed sheets decreased with increasing rolling temperature. The bonding strength of the non-brushed sheets was higher than that of the brushed sheets because the bonding area was larger. In the non-brushed sheets, deformation between the clad and the core may be responsible for waviness and crack formation, causing interfacial sliding at the bonding interface, enlarging the bonding area, and increasing the bonding strength.