An Analysis of the Metal Connection Using Metallographic Investigation

Pistons are mainly made of Al-Si alloys. The first piston channel’s highly loaded diesel engines use a ring carrier. In this case, two different materials (aluminum alloy and austenitic cast iron) must establish an excellent metallic bond (intermetallic bonding layer). If no intermetallic bonding layer is formed, the first piston ring carriers will separate, and the engine will fail. This research is aimed at analyzing the formation of the intermetallic bonding layer. The manuscript presents an analysis of the formation of the metal connection between a piston and a ring carrier. The metallographic investigation combined an optical microscope with SEM/EDS to analyze the quality of the metal connection. The test results show the formation of the metal connection between the two materials of different qualities.