Lap joint welding of dissimilar materials

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Keywords

• Dissimilar Materials
• High-strength joint
• Optimised structural design

Technology Market 

Welding of dissimilar materials is the key technology to improve productivity and quality in different fields including:

• Transportation: reduction of vehicle weight, and hence gas emissions, by joining light alloys with high strength joints (e.g. aluminium alloys to steel)
• Energy production: joining steels difficult to weld

The welding technology proposed by the UCL meets the market demand for joining with high-strength joints dissimilar materials that are traditionally difficult to weld.

The UCLouvain invention

UCLouvain has patented (developed) a friction based welding process called friction melt bonding that ensures obtaining a high-strength joint between dissimilar materials, even for dissimilar materials that are traditionally difficult to join (such as steel and aluminum). This high-strength joint avoids premature cracking. The production rate can reach a weld of 1 meter long produced in less than 2 minutes.

Technology Status

This work is the subject of one patent application:

VAN DER REST C., SIMAR A., JACQUES P.J. , Method for welding at least two layers; EP12166124.3, april 2012, and PCT/EP2013/058844, april 2013.

Reference publication:

VAN DER REST C., JACQUES P.J., SIMAR A., On the joining of steel and aluminium by means of a new friction melt bonding process, Scripta Mater., 77, 25-28 (2014).

Louvain Technology Transfer Office would like to talk to companies interested in developing and commercializing this opportunity.

Interesed to develop and / or commercialise this technology?
Please contact :

Tel. +32 (0)10 47 29 78
christophe.dumonceau@uclouvain.be