Effect of process parameters on electromagnetic impact welding of aluminum sheets

Electromagnetic forming of aluminum sheets has been studied in detail by many researchers due to its advantages of increased formability and reduced springback. The feasibility of electromagnetic impact welding of aluminum sheets has been established, but the effect of process parameters on the weld strength has not been reported. The present study investigates the effect of parameters such as energy, standoff distance and coil geometry on the shearing strength and the width of the weld achieved by electromagnetic impact welding of aluminum sheets. A study has been carried out to characterize the effectiveness of the process of welding two aluminum sheets of same chemical composition and of 1 mm thickness. The results of the microstructure and shearing strength tests are reported in this paper. The shearing strength and the width of the weld are found to increase with an increase in discharge energy. Further, when the geometry of the coil is changed from rectangular shape to tapered shape, it gives higher shearing strength. The standoff distance has an optimum value that gives maximum shearing strength and width of the weld. If the standoff distance is varied on either side of its optimum value the shearing strength and the width of the weld reduce. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.