Explosive welding of aluminium to stainless steel

Abstract

Explosive welds of stainless steel and aluminium could only be achieved with the steel positioned as the baseplate. Using stainless steel as the flyer plate, the tensile stresses arrive at the interface before the complete solidification of the localised melting and no bonding is achieved. The poor weldability in this configuration is mainly related to the very low thermal conductivity of the flyer compared to the baseplate. The position of the materials significantly influences the weldability, and the ideal material for the flyer should have a higher melting temperature, specific heat and thermal conductivity, and a lower density compared to the baseplate. Some intermetallic formation is inevitable in dissimilar welds of combinations that can easily form intermetallic phases. The time-velocity diagram proved to be a reliable tool to analyse the weldability, especially when used in conjunction with the weldability window.