Atomic diffusion behavior in electromagnetic pulse welding

Abstract

• Establish molecular dynamics model to investigate the interface diffusion behavior. • A narrow diffusion zone of amorphous layer was found at the bonding interface. • Improve the theoretical basis on the bonding mechanism at the atomic level. This paper investigates the atomic diffusion behavior and bonding mechanism in a Cu-Al joint fabricated by electromagnetic pulse welding. The molecular dynamics simulation is proposed to investigate the atomic diffusion behavior. The equation of diffusion layer thickness is deduced to calculate the diffusion layer thickness according to the simulation results. The welding and transmission electron microscope experiments are carried out, and the simulation results are in good agreement with the experiments. There is a diffusion zone of amorphous layer at the bonding interface, but the diffusion thickness is narrow. So this work reveals that the inter-atomic bonding is not a major factor in electromagnetic pulse welding.