Combustion Synthesis Reactions in Cold-Rolled Ni/Al and Ti/Al Multilayers

In this article, a cold rolling method was developed to fabricate Ni/Al and Ti/Al multilayer foils, and the combustion synthesis reactions in the cold-rolled foils were investigated. Combustion synthesis reactions were initiated by heating one end of the cold-rolled foil in a flame for several seconds. The Ni/Al foils went through three reaction stages. The first reaction stage was a displacement of reaction zone with Al₃Ni as the reaction product. During the second stage, the part of the foil in the flame underwent thermal explosion. In the last stage, the heat released by thermal explosion triggered a self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) reaction across the foil that resulted in the formation of AlNi. In contrast, the Ti/Al foils experienced only two reaction stages. First, a displacement of the reaction zone propagated across the foil with formation of Al₃Ti at the Ti/Al interface. Then a thermal explosion reaction occurred in the part of foil that was heated in the flame, resulting in many different phases in the reacted foil.