MAGNETIC PULSE WELDING (MPW) FOR

JOINING SIMILAR AND DISSIMILAR MATALS

Presented by
BANOTH SHIVAKUMAR
(21MMRER02)
 CONTENTS:

 Introduction
 MPW working process
 MPW- Principle
 Parameters
 Interfacial deformation and wavy nature of the bond interface
 Case study
 Micro hardness crossing the joints interface
 Applications
 Advantages
 Limitations
 conclusion
 Reference
 INTRODUCTION
 The use of newer and environmentally friendly manufacturing techniques has
become more widespread in the past decade due to strict environmental rules and
regulations imposed by various government agencies and due to globally
increasing energy prices.[1]
 Sustainability and sustainable production studies aimed at reducing the global
environmental burdens and efficient use of materials and energy have also
become a wide research area nowadays.[1]

Fig: MPW welded automotive earth connector [1]

 Magnetic Pulse Welding (MPW) uses electromagnetically generated forces to
create a solid-state cold weld at room temperature.[2]
 This weld is completed in microseconds and is stronger than the base metals
joined. No heat, filler materials or gases are required.[2]
 Conti…
 Magnetic pulse welding (MPW) is a
cold process for welding conductive
metals to similar or dissimilar
materials.
 Magnetic pulse welding uses magnetic
pressure to drive the primary metal
against the target metal sweeping away
surface contaminants while forcing
intimate metal-to-metal contact,
thereby producing a solid-state weld.
brittle intermetallic phases is avoided.
 Therefore, dissimilar metals can be
welded, which cannot be effectively
joined by fusion welding.
 With magnetic pulse welding high
quality welds in similar and dissimilar
metals can be made in microseconds
without the need for shielding gases or
welding consumables.

 Magnetic pulse welding started in the

early 1970s, when the 
automotive industry began to use solid
state welding.
 The biggest advantage using magnetic
pulse welding is that the formation of Fig: Areas of research in MPW[1]
MPW WORKING PROCESS
 General view of a tubular configuration MPW
set-up: the current is released into the coil,
creating an eddy current on the outer surface of
the metal work piece.
 The created magnetic fields oppose one another
and cause the outer metal tube to be imploded at
high velocity to impact the inner metal work
piece.
 Magnetic pulse welding is based on a very short 
electromagnetic pulse, which is obtained by a fast
discharge of capacitors through low inductance
switches into a coil.
 CONTI..
 The pulsed current with a very high amplitude and frequency (500 kA and
15 kHz) produces a high-density magnetic field, which creates an eddy current
 in one of the work pieces.
 Repulsive Lorentz forces are created and a high magnetic pressure well beyond
the material yield strength causing acceleration and one of the work pieces
impacts onto the other part with a collision velocity up to 500 m/s.

Fig: Magnetic pulse welded space frame Fig: Magnetic pulse welded HVAC pressure vessel
 The principle of MPW technique can
PRINCILE OF MPW: be summarized into three steps as
shown in fig:
(1) Producing high magnetic field,
(2) Acceleration of base metal
(3) Impaction and bonding.

Table 2 Material combinations for successfully

magnetic pulse welding[3]
Parameters’ influence on the MPW:
 Interfacial deformation and wavy nature of the bonded
interfaces:
 The development of wave at the interface is governed by two main phenomena:
interferences of compressive shock waves due to the dynamic collision and a
jetting phenomenon governed by an alternate inversion.
 The first phenomenon is a mechanism for the creation of periodic humps with
regular shapes .
 The wave height and periodicity depend on the size of the structure, the
compressive stress intensity, and the interference of shock waves along the
interface. Under these conditions, the initiation and development of hump can
be considered as a consequence of deformation of the bonded and sheared
interface by the reflection of mechanical waves.

Typical magnetic pulse welded interfaces with wavy morphologies showing grains shearing along the wavy
pattern
Fig. : Photomicrograph of weld interfaces (a) aluminium-aluminium, (b) copper-brass, (c)
aluminium-steel, (d) aluminium-copper
 Case study
 The metallurgical joint was obtained through
MPW experiment between 5A02 aluminium
alloy- stainless steel 304 tubes under dis-charge
voltage of 15–17 kV and radial gap of 1.75
mm.
 There were two forms of magnetic impulse
joint interface between5A02 aluminium alloy
and stainless steel 304 tubes: One with a
transition zone and one without. When the
discharge energy was not less than 17 kV,
defects like small voids and micro cracks
formed in the interface with the transition zone.
 The structure of the interface with transition
zone contained an amorphous matrix phase
comprised mostly of Al with relatively less Fe,
plus irregular nano crystalline second phases
embedded within the amorphous phase matrix.
The base metals on both sides of the transition
zone featured deformed structures. The MPW
interface with the transition zone is essentially
a fused interface.[4]
TEM analysis of interface transition layer

• The fig. indicate that an amorphous phase existed in the transition zone and contained non-
negligible oxygen elements.
• These ordered phases were scattered in the disordered amorphous matrix phase, suggesting
that the matrix crystallized very quickly.
• Many of the ordered phases were still in the nucleation phase. Some had begun to grow, but
many of the processes observed within the interface ended prematurely; in effect, the
formation of the transition zone in MPW joint was instantaneous.
• The Al-base metal retained its deformed sub grain structure, indicating that the temperature
of the region only allowed for the dynamic recovery of the Al-base metal during MPW
without allowing for complete dynamic recrystallization.
 Micro hardness crossing the joint interface

 The nanoindentation test loctaions on the

interface with the transition zone and its
adjacent base metal and the measured 
hardness distribution is shown in fig.
 The hardness of both base metals near the
transition zone in the joint interface with the
transition zone significantly increased after
MPW. a. Locations of nano-indentation points
 Thisis because both sides of the base metal
underwent severe plastic deformation and grain
refinement.
 The hardness near aluminum alloy side in the
transition zone was about 5 GPa, and the
hardness near the stainless steel base metal side
increased rapidly to a maximum of 10.7 GPa.

b. Micro hardness distribution at joint interface.

 APPLICATIONS
 Automobile production
 Aerospace
 Electrical industries
 This process further used to join
dissimilar material used in various
industries. Hydraulic piston,
connecting rod, drive line, truck
roller bushes and pump shaft.
 Advantages:
 Allows welding of designs which with other processes are challenging or
not possible.
 High-speed pulse lasts from 10 to 100 µs, the only time limitation is
loading and unloading and capacitor charge time.
 Lower down-time due to lack of consumable parts (e.g. electrodes) and no
need for cleaning.
 Suited to mass-production.
 Dissimilar metals welding is possible.
 Weld with no heat-affected zone.
 No need for filler materials.
 Green process: no smoke, no radiation and no extraction equipment
required.
 Bulk and surface purity is preserved.
 Can produce welds with no shielding gas, can be used to seal parts under
vacuum.
 Mechanical strength of the joint is stronger than that of the parent material.
 Limitations:
 Challenging to apply to welds that are not roughly circular.
 Geometry of parts may have to be changed to allow the magnetic pulse process.
 If the parts cannot be slid into and out of the pulse coil a more complex multi-part
coil must be designed.
 Pulse coil may have to be re-designed if materials or dimensions are changed.
 Brittle components can be fractured by the shock (does not exclude the use of
materials like glass, but must be considered).
 May produce an EMP effect on any electronics present inside or near the part.
 Initial investment cost may outweigh the lower price-per-weld for low volume
parts.
 CONCLUSION

 Magnetic pulse technology is one of the new non-conventional methods that used
for welding dissimilar metals with high productivity reached to 600 parts per
minute.
 It is enable us to design previously not possible by welding. The process is green
process.
 It is executed at a very high speed and takes just milliseconds. It can be used for
variations of application because it is cold process.
 It is successfully applied in industrial field such as automotive, aerospace,
consumer products, packaging and electrical industry.
 The advantages of magnetic pulse technology include reducing the cost, good
environmental condition, high quality of products, cold process and high
productivity.
 As well as, the possibility to welding, forming and cutting numerous materials. The
limitation of this kind of technology only conducting materials can be formed
directly
References:
1. Magnetic pulse welding: an efficient and environmentally friendly multi-material joining
technique, Angshuman KapilAbhay Sharma, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad,
502205, Indiaa r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 20 October 2014Received in revised
form13 March 2015Accepted 14 March 2015Available online 21 March 2015s.
2. Magnetic Pulse Welding Technology Ahmad K. Jassim MSc. Global Production Engineering
– Senior Chief Engineers Research and Development Department The State Company for
Iron and Steel – Ministry of Industry - Basrah, Iraq Email: ahmadkj1966@yahoo.com.
3. Review of magnetic pulse welding Bong-Yong Kang*, † *Convergence Components &
Agricultural Machinery Application Center, KITECH, Jeonju 561-202, Korea
†Corresponding author : kanbo@kitech.re.kr (Received September 30, 2014 ; Accepted
February 21, 2015)
4. Interfacial microstructure of stainless steel/aluminum alloy tube lap joints fabricated via
magnetic pulse welding Haiping Yua,b,⁎, Haiqing Dangb, Yanan Qiuba National Key
Laboratory for Precision Hot Processing of Metals, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin
150001, Chinab School of Materials Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of
Technology, Harbin 150001, China