• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.135-144
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• 2019

Electromagnetic impulse welding (EMIW) is a type of solid state welding using the Lorentz force generated by interaction between the magnetic field of the coil and the current induced in the workpiece. Although many experimental studies have been investigated on the expansion and compression welding of tube using the EMIW process, studies on the EMIW process of lap joint between flat sheets are uncommon. Since the magnetic field enveloped inside the tube can be controlled with ease, the electromagnetic technique has been widely used for tube welding. Conversely, it is difficult to control the magnetic field in the flat sheet welding so as to obtain the required welding velocity. The current study analyzed the effects of coil shape on the impulse velocity for suitable flat one-turn coil for the EMIW of the flat sheets. The finite element (FE) multi-physics simulation involving magnetic and structural field of EMIW were conducted with the commercial software LS-DYNA to evaluate the several shape variables, viz., influence of various widths, thicknesses, gaps and standoff distances of the flat one-turn coil on the impulse velocity. To obtain maximum impulse velocity, the flat one-turn coil was designed based on the FE simulation results. The experiments were performed using an aluminum alloy 1050 sheets of 1.0mm thickness using the designed flat one-turn coil. Through the microscopic interfacial analysis of the welded specimens, the interfacial connectivity was observed to have no defects. In addition, the single lap joint tests were performed to evaluate the welding strength, and a fracture occurred in the base material. As a result, a flat one-turn coil was successfully designed to guarantee welding with bond strength equal to or greater than the base material strength.