Abstract
In order to meet increasingly complex and rigorous technical specifications, extensive effort has been devoted to fabricate clad materials with multi-layered metal plates. In this study, novel stainless steel/aluminum/copper (STS/Al/Cu) three-ply clad materials were fabricated by a hot rolling process for cookware applications. The effect of the testing temperature on the mechanical properties of the clad materials and on each component metal was investigated during the tensile tests. The interface properties of the clad materials were also examined by optical microscopy (OM) and an electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA). The best mechanical and interfacial properties for a warm working process were found in a sample annealed at a temperature of $300^{\circ}C$. For the sample annealed at $400^{\circ}C$, the results of the tensile test indicated that interface delamination occurred only in the region of the Al/Cu interfaces. This was due to the formation of the thick and brittle intermetallic compound of $Al_2Cu$ in the Al/Cu interface. In contrast, no interface delamination was observed in the STS/Al interface, most likely due to its strong bond strength.