Numerical and experimental study on high-speed nailing process for aluminum/steel structures induced by electromagnetic impact

The innovation of traditional machinery manufacturing and the promotion of advanced manufacturing technology are becoming the booster for the sustainable development of automobile industry. This paper aims to propose a promising manufacturing technology driven by electromagnetic impact, which is called as electromagnetic high-speed nailing. In this paper, the connection mechanism and joint performance (e.g., microtopography and mechanical properties) of the aluminum alloy 5052 (Al)/high-strength steel DP590 (HSS) structure were studied using simulation and experiment methods. A two-dimensional axisymmetric model based on mechanical-thermal finite element analysis was proposed to explore the formation process of the joints. Microscopic observations and effective plastic strain field analysis showed that excessive deformation of the Al sheet caused serious damage to the HSS sheet, thereby making the joint more susceptible to failure. Through mechanical properties tests, it was found that the mechanical properties of the joints with different discharge energies varies. Specifically, the joints at the discharge energy of 5.3 kJ had the highest maximum shear load. While the joints at the discharge energy of 5.1 kJ showed higher push-out strength because of the better wrapping and higher interlocking degree.