Procedure Development for Brazing Iconel

718 Honeycomb Sandwich Structures

Method establishes optimum brazing parameters,
evaluates joint mechanical properties, then goes into
production

BY WINFORD BLAIR

Introduction braz 10. Later, for reasons explained to braze a wettability specimen rep-
below, Coast Metals 1600N and resenting each of the possible braz-
The design of some current air- 1700N were added. Compositions are ing combinations shown in Table 3.
craft engine power plants require that shown in Table 2. This would require the brazing of 72
portions of the fan duct and primary
spoiler assemblies be produced as Quantity of Specimens
brazed Inconel 718 honeycomb struc-
tures. It was necessary to develop a In order to evaluate the four basic
Table 1 — Chemical Composition Inconel
brazing procedure for these assem- brazing p a r a m e t e r s (filler metal, 718 Base Metal (AMS 5596)
blies. binder, cleaning process, brazing
The procedure was developed in atmosphere), it was originally planned Percentage
two phases. The first phase was to Element Min Max
determine the brazing parameters: Carbon — 0.08
cleaning process, brazing filler metal, Manganese — 0.35
binder, brazing a t m o s p h e r e a n d WETTABILITY SPECIMEN
Silicon — 0.35
temperature, and the heat treat cycle. Phosphorus — 0.015
The second phase was to braze pan- Sulfur — 0.015
Chromium 17.00 21.00
els for testing to obtain design data.
Nickel &
This report covers both phase one cobalt 50.00 55.00
and two. Upon completion of phase Cobalt — 1.00
t w o , p r o d u c t i o n was s t a r t e d on Molybdenum 2.80 3.30
acoustically treated panels for the DC Columbium &
10-40 power package. tantalum 4.75 5.50
Titanium 0.65 1.15
Aluminum 0.20 0.80
Phase I — Brazing Parameters Boron — 0.006
Wettability Specimens Copper — 0.30
Fig. 1 — Inconel 718 test specimen used to Iron Rem. Rem.
I n i t i a l e v a l u a t i o n of b r a z i n g evaluate brazing parameters
parameters was conducted using wet-
tability specimens of the configura-
tion as shown in Fig. 1. Honeycomb
core and face sheets were Inconel 718 Table 2 — Nominal Chemical Composition of Brazing Filler Metals
material, AMS 5596, of composition
shown in Table 1. Honeycomb core Coast Coast
was 'A in. cell size X 0.0025 in. thick AMI AMI Nicro- Metals Metals
foil, corrugated square cell, non- Element 930 931 braz 10 1700N 1600N
perforated. Face sheets were 0.020 in. Carbon 0.07 0.15 — — —
thick. The brazing filler metal was Silicon 7.00 8.00 — — —
placed only between the honeycomb Copper 5.00 — — 67.5 52.5
core and the bottom face sheet. Manganese 23.00 17.00 — 23.5 38.5
Nickel 65.00 Bal. Bal. 9.0 9.0
Brazing Filler Metals Phosphorus — — 11.00 — —
The three brazing filler metals
originally intended for investigation
were AMI 930, AMI 931 and Nicro- Table 3 — Brazing Parameters
Filler Cleaning Brazing
metal Binder process atm.
WINFORD BLAIR is Senior Manufacturing
Research Engineer, Rohr Industries, Chula AMI 930 Nicrobraz HNO3-HF Argon
Vista, California. cement
Paper was presented at the Fourth AMI 931 Acyloid B-7 NaH Vacuum
AWS-WRC International Brazing Confer- Nicrobraz 10 Vistinex 100 Kolene
ence held at Chicago during April 4-5, Chem mill
1973.

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT! 433-s

 Table 4 — Wettability Specimens Table 5 — Parameters for Wettability Specimens Brazed Using Nicrobraz Cement #600
Binder
Filler Identifi-
metal Q'ty cation Cleaning Braz'g AMI AMI. Nicro-
AMI 930 24 W01 thru W24 process Atm. 930 931 braz 10
AMI 931 24 W25 thru W48
Nicrobraz 10 8 W49 thru W56
Ur W01 W25 W49
HN0 3 -HF | Vac.
1700N 2 W59, W67 W02 W26 W50
1600N 2 W60, W68
NaH
u, W03 W27 W51
(Vac. W04 W28 W52
lAr W05 W29 W53
Kolene
wettability s p e c i m e n s ( 3 X 3 X 4 x 2 [Vac. W06 W30 W54
= 72).
Ur W07 W31 W55
Chem mill
I Vac. W08 W32 W56
Revision of Initial Plan

Material was p r e p a r e d as r e q u i r e d
to braze 72 wettability s p e c i m e n s .
However, this p h a s e of the p r o g r a m
w a s r e v i s e d w i t h o n l y a t o t a l of 6 0 w e t - Table 6 — Parameters for Wettability Table 8 — Parameters for Wettability
tability s p e c i m e n s being p r o d u c e d , Specimens Brazed Using Acryloid B-7 Specimens Brazed Using 1700N & 1600N
using five r a t h e r t h a n t h r e e b r a z i n g Binder Filler Metals
filler metals.
A l l of t h e 4 8 w e t t a b i l i t y s p e c i m e n s Cleaning Braz'g AMI AMI Cleaning Braz'g.
s c h e d u l e d for brazing using A M I 930 process Atm. 930 930 process Atm. 1700N 1600N
a n d A M I 931 w e r e p r o d u c e d . How-
HNO,-HF
(Ar W09 W33 fW59(a)
e v e r , o n l y 8 of t h e 2 4 w e t t a b i l i t y s p e c - IVac. W10 W34 /Ar
imens s c h e d u l e d for brazing using NaH (Ar W11 W35 Sodium
N i c r o b r a z 10 w e r e p r o d u c e d w h e n (Vac. W12 W36 Hydride <
e v a l u a t i o n of N i c r o b r a z 10 w a s t e r m i - .Ar W13 W37 (W60(b)
Kolene
IVac. W14 W38 ^Vac
n a t e d . This action w a s t a k e n after
v i s u a l / m e t a l l o g r a p h i c e x a m i n a t i o n of Chem mill
lAr W15 W39 lw68 ( a )
I Vac. W16 W40
the 8 wettability specimens brazed
w i t h N i c r o b r a z 10 e x h i b i t e d b r a z i n g (a) Recleaned immediately prior to brazing.
(b) Cleaned 2 wks prior to brazing.
characteristics which were j u d g e d to
be u n a c c e p t a b l e .
It w a s t h e n d e c i d e d t o u t i l i z e s o m e Table 7 — Parameters for Wettability
of t h e w e t t a b i l i t y s p e c i m e n m a t e r i a l , Specimens Brazed Using Vistinex 100
which had b e c o m e surplus u p o n ter- Binder
Table 9 — Wettability Specimens Brazing
m i n a t i o n of t h e N i c r o b r a z 10 e f f o r t , f o r Cleaning Braz'g Time-temperature Cycles
AM! AMI
a r a n d o m e v a l u a t i o n of t w o a d d i - process Atm. 930 931
tional filler metals. T h e primary
(Ar W17 W41 Filler Temp., Time,
c r i t e r i a f o r s e l e c t i o n of t h e s e t w o HNO3-HF (Vac. W18 W42 metal F min
brazing alloys was a brazing t e m p e r - (Ar W19 W43
a t u r e not a b o v e 1 8 5 0 F. C o a s t M e t a l s NaH AMI 930
(Vac. W20 W44 1910 5
1 7 0 0 N a n d 1 6 0 0 N w e r e s e l e c t e d as (Ar W21 W45 AMI 931 1925 5
t h e two additional filler metals. T w o Kolene (Vac. Nicrobraz 10 1700 10
W22 W46
wettability specimens were then (Ar W23 W47 1700N 1825 10
b r a z e d u s i n g e a c h of t h e t w o f i l l e r s . Chem mill "IVac. W24 W48 1600N 1700 15
These wettability specimens experi-
enced only the s o d i u m hydride clean-
ing process a n d a r g o n / v a c u u m braz-
i n g a t m o s p h e r e as v a r i a b l e s s i n c e
1 7 0 0 N a n d 1 6 0 0 N w e r e a v a i l a b l e in P a r a m e t e r s of t h e f o u r cleaning Baking
t h e f o r m of f o i l , a n d t h e u s e of a b i n d - cycles utilized are s h o w n in Figs. 2 - 5 .
The retorts w e r e h e a t e d to 7 5 0 -
er w a s n o t r e q u i r e d . 800 F a n d held at t h i s t e m p e r a t u r e
The s p e c i m e n material for these f o r o n e h o u r t o b a k e off t h e v o l a t i l e s in
Stop-Off
specimens had been cleaned a p p r o x - the braze binder/stop-off. The retorts
i m a t e l y t w o w e e k s p r i o r to t h e b r a z i n g Filler m e t a l r u n o f f w a s c o n t r o l l e d w e r e e v a c u a t e d t o a p r e s s u r e of 1 8 - 2 0
d a t e . Of t h e t w o s p e c i m e n s b r a z e d using Nicrobraz White Stop-off. The i n . H g , a n d a 15 c f h a r g o n f l o w w a s
w i t h e a c h of t h e t w o b i n d e r s , o n e w a s s t o p - o f f p o w d e r w a s m i x e d w i t h VA maintained during the baking oper-
brazed "as is" (cleaned previously), Nicrobraz Cement #600 and % ace- ation.
and the other was recleaned i m m e d - t o n e a n d a p p l i e d as r e q u i r e d to c o n -
iately prior to b r a z i n g . t r o l t h e r u n o f f of t h e b r a z i n g f i l l e r Brazing
metal.
Specimen Parameters The wettability specimens were
then brazed using the t i m e - t e m p e r -
The wettability specimen quantity, a t u r e b r a z i n g c y c l e s h o w n in T a b l e 9.
Retorts
brazing filler m e t a l , a n d identification S p e c i m e n s b r a z e d in a v a c u u m w e r e
c o d e a r e s u m m a r i z e d in T a b l e 4. The wettability s p e c i m e n s were b r a z e d at a r e d u c e d p r e s s u r e of 28 i n .
Specific brazing parameters repre- l a y e d u p a n d p l a c e d in 1 x 8 X 12 i n . H g . S p e c i m e n s b r a z e d in a r g o n w e r e
s e n t e d b y e a c h of t h e w e t t a b i l i t y s p e c - stainless steei retorts w h i c h w e r e b r a z e d u s i n g a p r e s s u r e of 8 i n . H g
i m e n s , a r e s h o w n in T a b l e s 5 - 8 . s e a l e d by w e l d i n g . and a continuous argon flow up to

434-s | O C T O B E R 1 973
 NITRIC-HYDROFLUORIC CLEANING PROCESS
PHOTOMICROGRAPHS O F FILLETS FROM PANEL P5.
ALKALINE CLEAN (1)
10 MINUTES S O D I U M HYDRIDE C L E A N I N G , A M I 930 BRAZE A L L O Y ,
I
SPRAY RINSE WITH AMBIENT WATER NICROBRAZ C E M E N T * 6 0 0 BINDER, BRAZED AT 1900°F FOR 10 M I N U T E S
I
IMMERSE I N NITRIC-HYDROFLUORIC ACID (2) I N A N A R G O N ATMOSPHERE. HEAT TREATED.
FACE SHEETS - 10 MINUTES K A L L I N G ' S ETCHANT. 100X.
CORE - 3 MINUTES
I
SPRAY RINSE WITH AMBIENT WATER
I
DE-SMUT USING AIR/WATER BLAST AS REQUIRED
I
RINSE WITH HOT DEMINERALIZED WATER (160° F)
OVEN DRY
(1) TURCO HTC 6-8 O Z . / G A L . (2) NITRIC ACID 2 0 - 2 5 %
WATER - BALANCE HYDROFLUORIC
180° + 10° F ACID 1 - m
WATER - BALANCE
130° ± 10° F

Fig. 2 — Procedure for the nitric-hydro-

fluoric cleaning process

S O D I U M HYDRIDE C L E A N I N G PROCESS
IMMERSE I N MOLTEN SODIUM HYDRIDE (II
10-20 MINUTES
I
QUENCH IN AMBIENT WATER
I
SPRAY RINSE WITH AMBIENT WATER
I
IMMERSE IN NITRIC-HYDROFLUORIC ACID (2)
10 MINUTES MAXIMUM B O T T O M FILLET
SPRAY RINSE WITH AMBIENT WATER 70-1570-2
DE-SMUT USING AIR/WATER BLAST AS REQUIRED
I
RINSE WITH HOT DEMINERALIZED WATER (160° F)
OVEN DRY
SODIUM HYDRIDE .5 2.0% (2) NITRIC ACID 2 0 - 2 ;
Fig. 6 — Micrographs of top and bottom fillets of a wettability specimen (reduced
SODIUM HYDROXIDE HYDROFLUORIC
BALANCE ACID 1 - 3%
39%)
700-720° F WATER -BALANCE
130° ± 1 0 " F

Fig. 3 — Procedure tor the sodium hydride

cleaning process
SCHEMATIC
01 'SHOWING TIME/TEMPERATURE HEAT TREATING CYCLES
EVALUATED USING FLAT TENSILE SPECIMENS
KOLENE C L E A N I N G PROCESS
IMMERSE IN MOLTEN KOLENE (1) 1950
720" F, 30 MINUTES
I
QUENCH I N WATER
I
SPRAY RINSE WITH AMBIENT WATER
I
IMMERSE IN NITRIC-HYDROFLUORIC ACID (21
10 MINUTES MAXIMUM
I
SPRAY Rl NSE Wl TH AMB! E NT WATER
DE-SMUT USING AIR/WATER BLAST AS REQUIRED
I
RINSE WITH HOT DEMINERALIZED WATER (160° Fl
I
OVEN DRY
(II OPERATED I N A 1500 ml (2) NITRIC ACID 20 - 25%
STAINLESS STEEL BEAKER HYDROFLUORIC
ACID 1 - 3%
WATER - BALANCE
130° i 10° F

Fig. 4 — Procedure for the Kolene clean-

ing process
AMBIENT

CHEM MILL CLEANING PROCESS

ACTIVATE MATERIAL IN CONCENTRATED HCL Fig. 7 — Comparison between Method A and Method B heat treating cycles
1/2-1 MINUTE

IMMERSE I N CHEM MILL SOLUTION (11, 140-150°F

FACE SHEETS - 5 SECONDS
CORE - 2 SECONDS
I
RINSE WITH AMBIENT WATER 1700 F at which time the vacuum and top sheet filleting, percent node flow,
I argon lines were shut off and the re- and percent wettability of face sheet
DRY
(1) (a) ADD THE F O L L O W I N G , I N ORDER, TO
tort raised to t h e brazing temperature and core. Microspecimens were o b -
A 600 ml GLASS BEAKER: w i t h a static environment. After com- tained from selected wettability spec-
1. 150 ml H 2 0 pletion of t h e brazing cycle, the re- imens and were examined to deter-
2. 45 ml HCL ( C O N C ) mine percent core dissolution and
torts w e r e removed from t h e brazing
3. 26 ml HNO3) ( C O N C )
furnace. Vacuum w a s maintained bottom fillet width and height.
4. 198 GRAMS FERRIC CHLORIDE
(ANHYDROUS) until the retort had cooled to below The results of the visual and metal-
5 . 25 GRAMS NICKEL CHLORIDE 1000 F. lographic examination of the wet-
(b) COOL TO 140°-150°F
tability specimens are shown in Table
(c) ADD 10 ml HF (48%) Examination of Specimens
(d) DILUTE TO 500 ml WITH H j O 10. Micrographs of the brazed fillets
The brazed wettability specimens in the wettability specimens which
Fig. 5 — Procedure for Chem Mill cleaning were subjected to visual examination were brazed with AMI 930 are shown
process to determine appearance, percent of in Fig. 6.

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT! 435-s

 Table 10 — Results of Visual & Metallographic Examination of Wettability Specimens

Visual examination Metallographic exam.

>peci- Top Node Wettability, % Disso- Bottom Fillet,
men fillet flow, face lution, inches,
no. Appear. % % sheet core % width height
W1 Dull gray 0 10 100% 10%
W2 Dull gray 5 70 100 30
W3 Clean 85 100 25 .011 .006
W4 Clean, 85 100 100 20
grainy
W5 Clean 5 50 30 .010 .015
W6 Clean 80 100 35 .008 .003
W7 Dull 5 100 10 30 .023 .020
W8 Dull, slight 20 100 20
residue
W9 Dark, clean 0 5 100 20 40 .011 .006
W10 Clean, 10 95 100 20 15 .009 .003
grainy
W11 SI't residue 50 95 100 20 25 .008 .003
W12 SI't residue 50 85 100 20 20 .009 .003
W13 H'vy residue 70 85 100 15 15 .009 .003
W14 H'vy residue 30 85 100 15 40 .007 .003
W15 SI't residue 20 10 100 10
W16 Dirty 0 10 100 5
W17 Dark, clean 0 5 90 5
W18 Dark, clean 0 10 90 20
W19 Clean 80 100 100 10 30 .013 .006
W20 Clean 0 40 90 25 40 .030 .020
W21 Clean 0 10 100 10 50 .028 .014
W22 Dark 0 5 90 15 10 .023 .011
W23 Dirty 0 5 100 5
W24 Dirty 0 5 100 5
W25 Dark core 0 5 100 5
alloy res.
W26 Face clean, 100 10
core dark
W27 — 70 90 10 .014 .010
W28 Clean. 10 80 100 15
grainy
alloy
W29 Clean, 100
grainy
alloy
W30 Clean 30 100 10
W31 Dirty 5 o 10 .033 .013
100
W32 Dull gran. 30 100
alloy 20
W33 Dull, clean 10 100
mottled 10
W34 Dull, gray 10 100
dirty, mottled 10

Postbraze Heat Treatment Cycles
Aircraft engine design dictates a
postbrazing heat treat cycle be estab-
lished which would be capable of
providing the optimum room temper-
ature properties in the Inconel 718
components of the brazed honey-
c o m b panels. For this task, two basic
heat treating cycles were evaluated,
as shown in Fig. 7.
Method A — the brazed panel was
cooled to ambient temperature fol-
lowing brazing and s u b s e q u e n t l y
aged in a furnace which might not
be the brazing facility.
Method B — the brazed panel was
cooled to just below 1000 F and then
immediately aged, most probably in
the brazing facility.
The two basic heat treating meth-
ods were subdivided into six cycles
for Method A and three cycles for
Method B. These cycles differed as
follows: (1) Method A was varied as to
length of time held at room temper-
ature after brazing and prior to aging
(1 hr or 168 hr); (2) Methods A and B
were varied as to cooling rate be-
tween 1350 F and 1150 F aging
cycles (furnace cool, cool 200 F per
hr or cool 1000 F per hr).
For the purpose of the heat treat in-
vestigation, twenty-seven flat tensile
s p e c i m e n s were o b t a i n e d f r o m a
0.020 in. thick sheet of AMS 5596 In-
conel 718 material. These specimens
were divided into nine groups of three
specimens each with the groups given
the following identification:
Method A Method B
A1FC BFC
A102 B02
A110 B10
A7FC
A702
A710
The tensile specimens were sub-
jected to the following thermal cycles:
a. Heated to 1950 F ± 15 F and
held at this temperature for 10 ± 5
min.
b. Cooled to 1750 F within 1 hr.
c. Cooled from 1750 F to below
1000 F within 2 hr.
d. Cool "A" specimens to ambient
temperature.
e. Hold " A " specimens at ambient
temperature for the time specified in
Table 11.
f. Heat specimens to 1350 F ±
15 F and hold for 8 hr.
g. Cool specimens to 1150 F ±
15 F in accordance with Table 12 and
hold for 8 hr.

436-s I O C T O B E R 1 973
Table 10 — Continued

Visual examination Metallographic exam.

Speci- Top Node Wettability, % Disso- Bottom Fillet,
men fillet flow, face lution. inches,
no. Appear. % % sheet core % width height
W35 Clean, 65 100 10 .008 .003
mottled
W36 Dull, alloy 10 80 15 .015 .023
segregat'n
W37 Clean 10 0 90 5 25 .008 .005
W38 Dark, dirty 0 0 8C 5 5 .013 .013
W39 Dirty 0 5 100 10
W40 Dull, dirty 0 5 80 10
W41 Dull, clean 100
slightly
mottled
W42 Dark, slight 50 100 20
mottled
W43 Clean, spot 10 95 100 5 15 .010 .006
W44 Alloy dis- 100 100 100 15 10 .010 .008
colored,
clean

W45 Clean 50 100 5 30 .025 .010

W46 Clean, spot. 50 100 10 40 .029 .012
W47 Dirty core 5 90 5
W48 Dirty core 5 90 10
W49 Dark black 5 100 0
residue

W50 Clean, sl't 5 50 100 10

residue
W51 Clean, sl't 5 80 100 5 50 .030 .011
residue
W52 Clean, 90 95 100 5
grainy

W53 Clean, 0 15 100 5

grainy
W54 Clean, 90 95 100 10
grainy
W55 Grainy, 0 3 100 5 15 .025 .013
dark
residue

W56 Dirty, 10 100 10

residue in
alloy
W59 Clean 10 80 15 .030 .015
W60 Clean 35 100 25 .035 .020
W67 Clean 5 100 30 .010 .010
W68 Clean 50 100 50 .030 .025

imens, a series of ten 3 x 8 X Vz in.

Table 11 — Cooling Rates Between the honeycomb panels were brazed using Table 12 — Length of Time Method A Ten-
1325 F & 1150 F Aging Cycles for optimum brazing parameters. The sile Specimens Were Held at Ambient
Method A & Method B Tensile Spec- o p t i m u m p a r a m e t e r s were estab- Temperature Between Cooling from Sim-
imens lished as follows: ulated Brazing Cycle & Heating to the
1325 F Aging Cycle
a. Filler metal — AMI 930 and
Heat treat cycle Heat treat cycle
1700N
tensile specimens Time tensile specimens Time
b. Binder (when required) —
A1FC, A7FC, BFC Furnace
Nicrobraz Cement #600
cool
A102, A702, B02 c. Cleaning Process — Sodium A1FC)
20 F/hr
A110, A710, B10 Hydride A102 > 1 hr
100 F/hr
d. Brazing Atmosphere — Argon A110;
A7FC)
A702 > 168 ± 12 hr
h. Cool to ambient temperature. A710 '
Table 13 shows test results of spec- Brazing Cycles
imens that were subjected to the nine
heat treat cycles. The 3 X 8 in. panels were brazed
using varying brazing temper-
ature/time cycles as shown in Table Filler metal was applied to both
Optimum Parameters
14. The brazing temperature/time core-to-face sheet interfaces. AMI
Following the brazing of the wet- cycles are schematically shown on the 930 was applied to a density of 60
tability and heat treat tensile spec- temperature/time chart in Fig. 8. grams per square foot; 1700N was

WELDING RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT! 437-s

 The results of the metallographic
Table 13 — Tensile Properties Obtained from Flat Sheet Tensile Specimens Subjected to and tensile testing of the brazed panel
Nine Heat Treat Cycles are tabulated in Tables 15 and 16.

UTS, YTS, Elong.,

ksi Discussion
Specimen ksi 2 in., %
A1FC 202.0 162.0 18.8 Although the visual characteristics
201.5 162.5 19.1 of the fillets obtained when using
201.0 163.6 19.4
201.5 162.7 Nicrobraz 10 filler metal were the best
Av'g. 19.1
203.0 165.3 of any, further development work on
A102 19.9
203.0 167.9 this filler was aborted. This action was
16.4
203.9 166.9 19.6 taken because of the acceptable pro-
203.3 166.7 18.6 duction experience available from the
Av'g. 160.4
199.0 19.0 use of AMI 930 on other high nickel
A110 164.9
201.0 19.3 alloy honeycomb assemblies and be-
199.0 159.0 18.7 cause published data indicated that
199.7 161.4 19.0
Av'g. brazed joints from Nicrobraz 10 ex-
199.0 157.8 19.5
A7FC 197.4 154.9 hibited relatively brittle properties.
19.1
200.0 159.8 20.5
198.8 157.5 19.7 Conclusion
Av'g. 164.9
205.0 19.2
A702 203.9 164.2 The evaluation program as d o c u -
19.2
205.4 165.8 mented in this report, has d e m o n -
17.1
204.8 165.0 strated that:
Av'g. 203.5 166.2
18.5
A710 18.1 1. Sodium hydride conditioning,
201.5 163.7
18.3 followed by nitric-hydrofluoric acid
203.0 165.0
164.9
20.6 immersion, is the o p t i m u m cleaning
202.7 19.0
Av-g. 205.3 165.8 process.
BFC 19.9
205.4 169.2 2. AMI 930 is the optimum brazing
18.5
205.0 166.3 filler metal.
19.4
205.2 167.1 3. Nicrobraz Cement #600 is the
Av-g. 19.3
207.3 162.1
B02 18.8 optimum filler metal binder.
206.4 163.3
161.2 17.5 4. B r a z i n g in an a r g o n a t m o -
207.3 18.0
207.0 162.2 sphere will generally produce higher
Av'g. 202.4 167.0 18.1 quality brazements than will brazing
B10 202.0 167.9 18.8 in a vacuum.
18.4
201.9 166.5 5. M i n i m u m brazing times will
18.9
202.1 167.1 result in minimum core dissolution
Av'g. 18.7
and maximum face tension prop-
erties.

Phase II
Table 14 — Brazed 3 x 8 In. Panel Parameters
Phase II was conducted for the pur-
Braze Braze
pose of generating mechanical p r o p -
Panel Filler temp., time,
erty data of acoustically treated In-
no. metal F, ± 1 0 F mm
c o n e l 718 h o n e y c o m b s a n d w i c h
B1 AMI 930 1900 5 structures.
B2 1700N 1825 15
B3 AMI 930 1925 5 Discussion
B4 1700N 1825 30
B5 AMI 930 1900 10 Material for the test panels was
B6 1700N 1850 15 Inconel 718 and was procured to AMS
B7 AMI 930 1925 10 5596. The skins were made of .015 in.
B8 AMI 930 1900 20
thick sheet stock and the honeycomb
B9 1700N 1800 15
B10 AMI 930 1925 20 core was made of 0.0025 in. thick foil.
The honeycomb core configuration
was 4-25 RBP. Skins for one side of
each panel were perforated with 0.093
in. diam holes staggered 60 deg on
0.25 in. centers. Seven panels were
used as 0.003 in. thick foil. Face flow. The panels were then subjected fabricated with solid skins,on one side
sheets 0.020 in. thick were used for all to radiographic inspection which re- and perforated skins on the opposite
panels. Filler metal stop-off and at- vealed acceptable node flow charac- side of '/a in. thick X 4-25 RBP In-
mosphere control were identical to teristics and a fillet size which was of conel 718 honeycomb core blankets.
that used for brazing wettability spec- the order of 0.010 in. The skins and honeycomb core
imens. M i c r o s p e c i m e n s were o b t a i n e d were cleaned in sodium-hydride and
from each panel and examined to nitric hydrofluoric acid prior to layup
determine both top and bottom core- for brazing. After cleaning, Amdry 930
Panel Evaluation
to-face sheet braze fillets. braze alloy was applied to one side of
Following brazing, the panels were Three face tension specimens were each face sheet, 60 grams per square
visually inspected; all exhibited a obtained from each brazed panel. foot, using Nicrobraz 600 cement as a
clean surface condition. All of the ten One tensile specimen was obtained binder. The skins were placed over
brazed panels exhibited 100% node from each face sheet. the core and held in position with

438-s i O C T O B E R 1 973
Table 15 — Braze Fillet Characteristics & Tensile Properties of 3 x 8 Ir i. Panels Brazed with A M I 9 3 0
Face sheet
Braze Dissol'tn Top fillet Bot. fillet Face tension test I:ensiletest < a )
Tern p. Time, Top, Bot., Wid., Hi, Wid., Ht.,
F min % % In. In. In. In. csi Failure UTS YTS % EL.
1900 5 35 35 .015 .007 .020 .010 3,051 75%. braze, 200.0 167.4 14.6
25% core
3,388 Adhes. 198.1 169.8 13.7
bond
3,655 75% braze,
25% core
Av'g. 3,365
1900 10 55 40 .013 .008 .013 .006 2,842 100% braze 193.9 163.2 12.4
2,990 50%. braze, 190.7 161.5 13.3
50%. core
3,461 75% braze,
25% core
Av'g. 3,098
1900 20 45 45 .013 .005 .015 .008 2,606 5 0 % braze, 194.4 164.6 13.5
50%core
2,951 100% braze 188.5 159.6 14.1
3,456 100% braze
Av'g. 3,004
1925 5 45 45 .013 .005 .015 .008 3,514 5 0 % braze, 190.8 160.0 13.0
5 0 % core
3,712 7 5 % braze, 192.9 163.6 13.0
25% core
2,880 5 0 % braze,
5 0 % core
Av'g. 3,369
1925 10 30 35 .010 .005 .010 .007 3,405 100% braze 188.3 160.7 14.0
3,408 100% braze 190.5 162.1 14.3
3,576 5 0 % braze,
5 0 % core
Av-g. 3,463
1925 20 45 65 .005 .003 .003 .003 3,059 100% braze 189.6 158.5 14.5
2,305 100% braze 187.6 159.3 15.1
2,527 100% braze
Av'g. 2,630

(a) The 1st tensile spec, was obtained from the top face sheet; the 2nd, from the bottom face sheet.

0.003 in. thick stainless steel foil, tack ence surface. The graphite block was tort. The braze package was aided
welded to each face sheet. The braze separated from the braze package by with tooling core being placed around
package was then placed into a retort a 0.010 in. thick 304 stainless steel the periphery to fill the retort. A 0.020
with a graphite block used as a refer- sheet that was not welded to the re- in. 321 stainless steel diaphragm was

Table 16 — Braze Fillet Characteristics & Tensile Propert les of 3 X 8 In. Panels Brazed with 1700N

Face sheet
Braze Dissol'tn Top fillet Bot. Fillet Face tensi on test Tensile test ;a)
Temp. Time, Top, Bot, Wid, Ht, Wid, Ht,
F min % % in. in. in. in. psi Failure UTS YTS % EL.

1800 15 45 25 .010 .010 .015 .010 4,023 Core/adh. 210.8 173.8 15.7
bond
3,836 100% core 209.8 172.0 16.1
3,830 Core/adh.
bond
Avg. 3,896
1825 15 35 40 .015 .008 .018 .007 2,393 50% br, 210.5 161.0 13.9
50% core
3,852 A d h . bond 207.5 170.4 15.3
3,553 A d h . bond
Av'g. 3,266
1825 30 50 40 .008 .010 .005 .013 3,355 A d h . bond 206.5 169.7 14.7
3,114 A d h . bond 206.6 171.5 14.8
3,503 A d h . bond
Av'g. 3,324
1850 15 25 45 .005 .010 .008 .008 3,562 A d h . bond 209.5 173.9 16.5
2,963 A d h . bond 209.1 173.8 13.5
3,110 Br/core/
A d h . bond
Av'g. 3,212

{a) The 1st tensile spec, was obtained from the top face sheet; the 2nd, from the bottom face sheet.

W E L D I N G RESEARCH S U P P L E M E N T ! 439-s
Table 17 — Mechanical Properties of Table 18 — Mechanical Properties of Panel Test Specimens
Panel Test Specimens
Tensile Elon., U.T.S. Y.S.,
Ult. load, test (a) Range % psi psi
Test psi Solid face High 17.2 197,600 172,000
Flatwise face High 3,730 Avg 16.6 194.980 169,350
tens, test Avg 3,337 Low 16.0 192,000 164,000
1.5 x 1.5 in. LOW 3,029 Solid face w/ High 13.0 203,800 184,200
Flatwise High 2,200 Filler Avg 10.0 197,900 175,500
comp. test Avg 2,095 Low 7.0 192,300 168,000
1.5 x 1.5 in. Low 1,996 Perforated High 2.0 151,100 140,100
Core Shear High 158,200 face w/ Avg 1.8 142,400 134,100
modulus: Avg 139,500 Filler Low 1.6 132,000 128,200
Low 116,000
Beam flexure High 184,400 Climbing drum peel test:
Face stress: Avg 182,300 Per MIL 401B (54.5 in. lb per 3-in. width)
Low 178,300
(a) All tensile test specimens were 0.50 x 0.0168 in. size.

welded over the retort. A leak check TEMPERATURE/TIME CYCLES A procedure specification for braz-
USED FOR B R A Z I N G O F 3 " X 8 " H O N E Y C O M B PANELS
was performed using a helium mass ing Inconel 718 honeycomb sand-
s p e c t r o m e t e r a n d t h e retort was wich structures has been written and
1950
made free of leaks prior to starting the panels for DC 10-40 are currently be-
braze cycle. ing brazed according to that spec-
1925- ® © g ification.
The Nicrobraz 600 cement was , A M I 930
b a k e d off by h e a t i n g t h e b r a z e
package to 750 F and holding for 1
1900
1 ? =• PANEL NO. 5

N O . 3 ( N O . 8< TENSILES
hr. Then the braze package was
placed into another furnace that was 1850 . D
preheated to 1950F. The retort was
purged seven times with argon before 1825
l © > 17
the braze package t e m p e r a t u r e J85-5S-2 i 85-5T ] 8 5 - 5 S F ^

reached 800 F; 15 cfh of argon was 1800 - ® 85-5C '

flowed through the braze package for i-ST I 85-5C I 85-5T | 85-5C

the remainder of the braze cycle. The I 85-5M | '

10 15 20 25
braze temperature for all panels was TIME, MINUTES
1900 to 1930 F. The total time in fur-
nace was 65 min. The dwell time Fig. 8 — Display of the time-temperature Fig. 9 — Typical layout of test specimens
above 1900 F was 3-5 min. All parts relation for 10 brazing cycles using opti- for the Phase II evaluation of mechanical
were air cooled to room temperature mum parameters properties
prior to aging at 1325 F for 8 hr, cool-
ing at a rate of 100 F per hr to 1150 F
and holding for 8 hr.
After heat treating all panels were
radiograph inspected for fillets, node
flow and wetting by the filler metal.
Typical specimen location a n d some ( 7 0 - 8 8 4 - 1 ) 1 0 0 X , MIXED ACIDS ETCHANT
of the mechanical properties for the TOP FILLET FROM PANEL 85-7M-5
five panels are given in Fig. 9 and
Tables 17 and 18. Figure 10 shows
typical micrographs of top and bot-
tom panel joint sections.

Conclusions
1. Five panels made of acousti-
cally treated Inconel 71 8 w e r e brazed
and tested as follows:
a. Block shear (static & fatigue)
b. Beam flexure (static & fatigue)
c. Flatwise face tension
d. Flatwise compression
e. Facing tensile p r o p e r t i e s (% ( 7 0 - 8 8 1 - 2 ) 1 0 0 X , MIXED ACIDS ETCHANT
elongation, yield, and ultimate) BOTTOM FILLET FROM PANEL 85-4M-1
f. P h o t o m i c r o g r a p h s of typical
braze joints, top and bottom.
g. Climbing d r u m peel tests
2. T e s t r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e t h a t
acoustically treated Inconel 718 sand-
wich structures brazed with Amdry
930 brazing filler metal met the DC
10-40 requirements. Fig. 10 — Micrographs of brazedjoints from Phase II evaluation (reduced 35%)

440-s I O C T O B E R 1 973