Brazing Experiment under Microgravity

Abstract

The experiment of capillary gap penetration of molten Ag-Cu-Li alloy into gaps of stainless steel sleeve joint under microgravity was carried out using the sounding rocket TR-IA#5. The purpose of this experiment was to understand capillary penetration phenomena under microgravity in order to establish a guideline for the decision of brazing process parameters in space environments. The experimental results showed that gap penetration of molten alloy is very sensitive to temperature distribution during heating and brazing under microgravity is not so easy as it was thought before.