Mechanism of Roll Bonding of Aluminum Heat Exchanger Panels

A test has been developed to measure the strength of the bond made during the roll-bond process of forming heat exchanger panels. The test involves isolating the bond area from the bulk material and performing a shear test. Using this test it has been shown that the strength of the bond is increased by the amount of hot work during and after the bonding of the material and that the bond is further strengthened by cold-working the panels. Current applications are for evaporators for refrigerators, but automotive uses such as brazed condensor and evaporator heat exchanger units are forseen.