High shear strength and ductile ZrC–SiC/austenitic stainless steel joints bonded with Ti/Ni foam interlayer

A transient-liquid-phase (TLP) diffusion bonding method was employed to join ZrC–SiC ceramic and austenitic stainless steel by using Ti foil and various density Ni foam as interlayer. The Ti–Ni TLP contributed to a firm bonding between ceramic and foam interlayer while avoiding liquid infiltration in foam structure. The influence of holding time on the microstructure of the TLP reaction layer was investigated. The shear tests showed the joints with foam interlayer exhibited ductile failure mode and improved fracture work in comparison with the one with dense Ni interlayer. A maximum shear strength of 117.2 MPa was reached when the relative density of Ni foam was 0.57. The fracture behaviors of the joints during shear test were in-situ observed.