cold welding

American  

noun

1. the welding of metal objects by extreme high pressure or by contact in a high vacuum with no application of heat.

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Example Sentences

Outside the space station, there are micro-meteoroid strikes, extreme temperature fluctuations, the cold welding of metal parts that occurs in a vacuum, and atomic oxygen/ultraviolet degradation.

From Salon

“Mechanisms such as filter wheels on telescopes or carousels that change instruments are very difficult to lubricate. Optical systems need to be kept clean and, in a vacuum, lubricants can be easily deposited on optical components and reduce their effectiveness. If you try to build mechanisms without lubricants, they have a tendency to stick through a process called ‘cold welding’: in a vacuum, smooth metal surfaces fuse when brought into contact.

From Newsweek

Moreover, to the posts hung new wagon chains, and near by stood the village blacksmith and his apprentice, who carried a hand anvil and a sledge hammer for the cold welding of those chains.

From Project Gutenberg