The presence of micrometeoroids and space debris in open space raises the question of a mitigation of the damage caused by a possible impact on the man-made structures. Moreover, an anticipated need for a bonding of complex structures in space has inspired a consideration of brazing of aluminum alloys in space. The study to be discussed in this lecture addresses an issue of filling the micro holes by liquid aluminum braze under terrestrial brazing of aluminum. It is observed that a hole with a diameter of the order of magnitude of up to a few hundreds of micrometers, for a given set of process and materials parameters, can be self-filled during the brazing process. Results indicate that a threshold diameter exists for the given set of core and clad dimensions. Samples with hole sizes below the threshold diameter will be filled during the brazing process. The holes with sizes larger than the threshold diameter will not be filled. The phenomenology of the process is studied. This research has been funded by NASA's Physical Sciences Research Program.
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