Publications
Contamination and solid state welds
Since sensitivity to contamination is one of the verities of solid state joining, there is a need for assessing contamination of the part(s) to be joined, preferably nondestructively while it can be remedied. As the surfaces that are joined in pinch welds are inaccessible and thus provide a greater challenge, most of the discussion is of the search for the origin and effect of contamination on pinch welding and ways to detect and mitigate it. An example of contamination and the investigation and remediation of such a system is presented. Suggestions are made for techniques for nondestructive evaluation of contamination of surfaces for other solid state welds as well as for pinch welds. Surfaces that have good visual access are amenable to inspection by diffuse reflection infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy. Although other techniques are useful for specific classes of contaminants (such as hydrocarbons), DRIFT can be used most classes of contaminants. Surfaces such as the interior of open tubes or stems that are to be pinch welded can be inspected using infrared reflection spectroscopy. It must be demonstrated whether or not this tool can detect graphite based contamination, which has been seen in stems. For tubes with one closed end, the technique that should be investigated is emission infrared spectroscopy.