Due to their exceptional all-around performance, steel/aluminum-alloy composite plates have been frequently utilized in many different industries. However, when steel/aluminum-alloy composite plates are prepared by the rolling process, they will scarcely bond with high bonding strength under a lower reduction rate due to the inconsistent deformation the of steel/aluminum-alloy. Therefore, a method of adding a pure-aluminum interlayer by differential temperature rolling with induction heating was proposed to prepare steel/aluminum-alloy composite plates. The results showed that when the induction heating time was 10–18 s, the pure-aluminum interlayer became molten, and the temperature difference between the steel and aluminum alloy reached 350–500 °C. The interface shear strength of the composite plate reached more than 68 MPa under a 31% reduction rate. The shear fracture of the composite plate occurred in the pure-aluminum layer, and the steel/aluminum interface diffusion layer was 0.83–0.99 μm thick. There was no obvious compound formation at the bonding interface, however, the steel and aluminum alloy could not bond without the addition of an interlayer under the same conditions.

The aluminum (Al)/steel transition joints used in ships are processed from composite plates, and their mechanical properties have a significant impact on the safety of ships. In this paper, the Al/steel composite plate was prepared using rolling, with 5083 aluminum plate as the cladding plate, Q235 steel plate as the substrate, and TA1 titanium (Ti) plate and DT4 pure iron (Fe) plate as the intermediate layers. The heterothermic billet was prepared through induction heating by the magnetic effects of the steel plate and the pure Fe plate, and then the Al/steel composite plate was obtained by rolling. The impacts of post-rolling cooling process on the microstructure and properties of the Al/Ti/pure Fe/steel composite plate were studied. The results manifested that the pure Fe/steel interface had a good composite effect. With the increase in the cooling rate, the bonding strength of the Al/Ti interface was raised, and that of the Ti/Fe interface was increased first and then decreased. When the oil cooling process was adopted, the Al/Ti/pure Fe/steel composite plate exhibited the highest comprehensive performance. The shear strength of the Al/Ti interface and the Ti/Fe interface was 102 MPa and 186 MPa, respectively. The plastic fracture was determined as the mode of interface fracture.

As research on new, lightweight energy vehicles continues to develop, the application of high-strength steel sheets with tensile strength greater than 1 GPa and their mechanical clinching technology, which is associated with aluminum alloys, has emerged as a new research focus. However, due to the challenges associated with the cold deformation of high-strength steel, conventional mechanical clinching processes often fail to establish effective joint interlocking, resulting in weak connections. This study proposes a center-punching mechanical clinching process for connecting DP980 high-strength steel to AL5052 aluminum alloy. The mechanical evolution during the forming process was analyzed via finite element simulation. An orthogonal experimental design was employed to optimize key geometric parameters of the punch and die, yielding the optimal configuration for the mold. Mechanical testing of the joint demonstrated average pull-out force and pull-shear forces of 1124 N and 2179 N, respectively, confirming the proposed process’s ability to successfully connect high-strength steel and aluminum alloy.

Achieving strength–ductility synergy in immiscible Ti/Mg laminated composites remains challenging, owing to the absence of metallurgical bonding and the limited slip systems of their hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structures. This study aims to achieve a favorable strength–ductility balance in immiscible Ti/Mg laminated composite plates via low-temperature annealing after hot-roll bonding. The results show that after post-rolling annealing at 200 °C, the bonding strength of the Ti/Mg composite interface increased from 48.74 MPa to over 80 MPa without the formation of obvious intermetallic compounds. In the Mg layer, complete recrystallization eliminated the shear bands, and pyramidal slip—exhibiting the highest Schmid factor—became the dominant strain-accommodation mode. In the Ti layer, recovery, rather than full recrystallization, prevailed. Concurrently, basal and pyramidal slip were co-activated to enable multi-slip load bearing. These complementary deformation modes, coordinated through the strengthened interface, promoted compatible deformation between the layers, in which the plastic flow of the Mg layer relieved local strain concentration in the Ti layer, resulting in a more than twofold increase in elongation with minimal loss of strength. Annealing at 200 °C was identified as the preferred annealing temperature, offering a viable pathway to strength–ductility synergy in immiscible lightweight Ti/Mg laminated composite plates.