Clad metals are metallurgical materials systems comprised of two or more metals or alloys which are metallurgically bonded to form a single material. This results in specific and unique properties of the clad metal system which are not available in a monolithic metal or alloy. Historically, they have been used for many decades by the automotive industry but the cladding process as well as the ability to design specific properties into a clad system are not well understood.
This paper describes the cold roll bonding process for fabrication of clad metals. The mechanism of bond formation and limitations of the process are discussed. Rules for calculating a number of properties of clad metals are presented. Methods for designing clad metals to obtain unique properties for specific applications are described.
The history of the use of clad metals on automobiles is also reviewed. This includes applications such as thermostat bimetal devices, heat sinks, bearing materials, heat exchanger materials, automotive trim, and bumper materials. Potential new applications where the unique properties of clad metals can be used to solve problems will be proposed.