1997 Volume 15 Issue 4 Pages 674-680
It is important to understand the liquid surface configuration, meniscus configuration in brazing and soldering process. In this study, meniscus configuration formed on circular rod base metal during brazing and soldering has been investigated using computer simulation. Meniscus configuration is determined by combining the Laplace equation and hydrostatic pressure. The meniscus configuration on the plane surface could be determined by simple equation, however, on the curved surface it could be obtained only by the numerical analysis. In the present study the meniscus configuration on circular rod was simulated by Runge-Kutta method. The effects of radius of rod on meniscus rise height and its configuration were investigated. It was found that the meniscus height became small with decreasing the radius of rod. Meniscus configuration of various brazing metals having different surface tension and density were also simulated. Within the present estimation, aluminum brazing filler metal offered the largest meniscus rise height, whereas, Sn-Pb solder gave the smallest one. Similarly, the meniscus configuration depending on the contact angle and the volume of liquid metal was also derived by the present method, therefore, this method is effective to obtain the accurate meniscus configuration of brazing filler metals and to prevent brazing defects such as overor in-sufficient brazing.
