International Journal of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics 32 (2010) 119

DOI 10.3233/JAE-2010-1062
IOS Press

Numerical modeling of electromagnetic

welding
S.D. Korea, , P. Dhaneshb , S.V. Kulkarnic and P.P. Dateb
a Mechanical

Engineering Department, IIT Guwahati, Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India

Engineering Department, IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, Maharashtra, India
c Electrical Engineering Department, IIT Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, Maharashtra, India
b Mechanical

Abstract. Feasibility of electromagnetic welding of flat sheets is ascertained by comparing the minimum impact velocities
determined by using software ANSYS/EMAG and ABAQUS with the required minimum velocity obtained from analytical
considerations. Magnetic forces acting on the sheets are computed from ANSYS/EMAG simulations. The velocity of impact
and the pressure profile acting on the sheets are found from ABAQUS simulations. A criterion for weld formation is subsequently
arrived at based on the simulations, which is further validated using experimental results. The reasons for no-weld zone in
Al-to-Al EM weld and complete metal continuity (absence of no-weld zone) in Al-to-SS EM weld have been analyzed based
on the numerical and experimental results.
Keywords: Electromagnetic, welding, modeling

1. Introduction
Electromagnetic (EM) welding is a process of joining two similar or dissimilar metals by removing
oxide layer and by creating a high velocity impact by Lorentz forces generated due to the electromagnetic
field and damped sinusoidal transient current. Electromagnetic welding of axis-symmetric components
(tubes) has been established by many researchers [19]. The EM welding of flat sheets is cumbersome
due to the difficulty in controlling the magnetic field. Few researchers have reported the EM welding of
Flat sheets [1017]. The EM welding of Al-to-Al, Al-to-Cu, Al-to-SS, Cu-to-SS, Cu-to-Cu, Mg to Al
and Al-to-Al-Li flat sheets has recently been established [1820].
Complex EM field analysis is essential to decide the optimum parameters like current, frequency,
inductance, and dimensions of the coil and work-piece. A numerical simulation can allow optimum
design of a suitable coil and selection of optimum process parameters. Finite element modeling of
the EM welding process is quite difficult due to its complex nature. It requires tight coupling of the
electromagnetic and structural models. Published literature on numerical modeling of EM welding of flat
sheets is scarce. Recently few researchers have reported the simulation-based approach for determining
the impact velocity in EM welding process [17]. Electromagnetic welding of Al-to-Al sheets has shown
no-weld zone at the centre whereas EM welding of Al-to-SS sheets with Al driver has shown continuous
EM weld without any no-weld zone at the centre [1315]. It is required to understand the effect of driver
on the occurrence of no-weld zone in the EM weld with the help of numerical simulations. Authors have

Corresponding author. E-mail: sdk@iitg.ac.in.

1383-5416/10/$27.50 2010 IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

Coil

Al Plates

Capacitor Bank
Switch
Coil

Fig. 1. Schematic representation of EM impact welding equipment.

Fig. 2. Experimental setup for electromagnetic impact welding. (Courtesy: Accelerator and Pulse Power Division, BARC,
Mumbai, MH, India).

not come across any literature reporting the study for the reason of no-weld zone at the center of EM weld
and how it is related to the spatial distribution of pressure in EM welding of flat sheets. In the present
study numerical modeling of EM welding process is carried out for addressing the reason for no-weld
zone. FEM software ANSYS/EMAG has been used to determine the magnetic field intensity, the induced
current density in the work-sheets and the Lorentz forces acting on the sheets. The impact velocity is
determined from the simulations carried out using the FEM software ABAQUS. Analytical calculations
based on published research papers have been made to determine the impact velocity required for welding
flat sheets. The feasibility of EM welding of flat sheets is then ascertained by comparing the numerical
and analytical values of the impact velocities. The results of welding feasibility are validated with the
experimental results.
2. Experimental work
The schematic representation of the electromagnetic equipment used for the experimental work is
shown in Fig. 1. The electromagnetic impact welding setup consists of 10 KJ capacitor bank, work coils,
discharge circuit and high voltage switch.
The photograph of the electromagnetic impact welding facility used for the experimental work is
shown in Fig. 2. The energy stored in the capacitor bank, charged through a DC power supply, is

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

discharged through the work-coil by triggering the spark-gap. The damped sinusoidal current set up in
the work-coil produces a transient magnetic field. The work-sheets in the vicinity of the work-coil cut
the transient magnetic field. Hence, the induced electromotive force and the corresponding eddy currents
in the work-sheets oppose their cause. The induced eddy currents depend upon the material properties
such as conductivity and permeability. Finally, the work sheets are repelled away from the coil (towards
each other) creating an impact, due to Lorentz force, which lasts for a few microseconds, on account of
the interaction between the induced eddy currents and the magnetic field.
Welding requires atomically clean surfaces to be pressed together to obtain metallurgical continuity.
This continuity is hindered by oxides, adsorbed gases and surface contamination. Jetting phenomenon
due to high velocity impact causes the expulsion of the oxides on the surface of the colliding worksheet surfaces. After the collision, the atomically clean work-sheet surfaces are brought in contact by
pressing them together by electromagnetic pressure. The weld is formed at the interface establishing
the metallurgical continuity. The energy of the impact and hence the occurrence of the weld depends
on parameters such as inductance of the circuit, frequency, capacitor bank energy, voltage, current,
and standoff distance between the work-sheets. The standoff distance is the distance by which the
work-sheets to be welded are separated from each other prior to the energy discharge.
Authors have reported a detailed discussion about the experimental feasibility of EM welding of Al-toAl and Al-to-SS sheets in the previous papers [14,15]. Al-to-Al EM weld has shown the no-weld zone at
the centre whereas Al-to-SS EM weld show complete metal continuity without any no-weld zone at the
centre. It is reported that the centrally acting Lorentz force is the reason for no-weld zone at the centre
for Al-to-Al EM weld [14]. In case of Al-to-SS sheets EM welds are obtained by using Al driver to drive
the SS sheets. Due to this, centrally acting Lorentz force has dominating shear component which led to
continuous weld without any no-weld zone at the centre [15]. The reason for this no-weld condition is
studied in detail and validated with numerical simulations and analytical calculations in this paper.

3. Modeling in ANSYS
The EM welding process was modeled using a 2D linear transient magnetic analysis. The analytical
calculations determined the impact velocity required for the welding. Transient magnetic analysis
technique was used for calculating magnetic fields that vary over time. In this transient magnetic
analysis, the quantities analyzed were:

current flow through the coil circuit,

eddy currents generated in the sheets,
magnetic flux density distribution, and
magnetic forces acting on the sheets.

The simulation procedure involved creating a physics environment, building the model, assigning attributes to the model regions, meshing the model, applying boundary conditions and loads, obtaining a
solution, and finally, analysis of the results.
Skin depth in copper coil at the set frequency (18.5 kHz) was equal to 0.48 mm. A single turn copper
work coil (5 mm 0.48 mm) and an Al work sheet were modeled in two dimensions as shown in
Fig. 3. A rectangle of dimension (400 mm 300 mm), which enclosed the coil/sheet system, was used
to model the surrounding free space. The resistivity of copper and Al assigned to the coil and sheets
respectively were 1.7 10 8 ohm-m and 2.77 10 8 ohm-m respectively.

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

Coil

Sheets
Coil

Fig. 3. Two dimensional model showing coil and sheets.

Fig. 4. PLANE53 2-D 8-Node Magnetic Solid [21].

In the electromagnetic finite element model, there were three components that were meshed. These
were the coil, the sheet and the free space. PLANE53 element was used to model all three components
in ANSYS. PLANE53 elements, shown in Fig. 4, can model 2-D (planar and axis-symmetric) magnetic
fields. This element was defined by 8 nodes and has up to 4 degrees of freedom (DOF) per node. These
DOFs were viz. the z-component of the magnetic vector potential (AZ), the time-integrated electric
scalar potential (VOLT), the electric current (CURR), and the electromotive force (emf).
The coil and sheets required AZ, CURR, emf degrees of freedom in order to determine the magnetic
vector potential established by applying a current in the elements. The free space required only AZ
degree of freedom.
All the nodes in the coil and sheets were coupled through CURR and emf degrees of freedom in order
to have a uniform current and electromotive force distribution. The flux was forced to be parallel to
the enclosing outer rectangular boundary. In order to simulate the discharge of the current through the

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

Fig. 5. CIRCU124 Coupled circuit source options [21].

Decay Factor

Current Amplitude

Current Offset
Delay Time

Fig. 6. Sinusoidal pulse applied to the current source.

coil, a current signal was fed to the coil elements by coupling them with the external circuit comprising
of the independent current source using CIRCU124 elements. CIRCU124 is a general circuit element
applicable to circuit simulation. The element interfaces with the electromagnetic finite elements to
simulate a coupled electromagnetic-circuit field interaction. The element has up to 6 nodes to define
a circuit component and up to three degrees of freedom per node to model circuit response. For the
modeling of EM welding process through such electromagnetic-circuit field coupling, the CIRCU124
element was interfaced with PLANE53 elements. CIRCU124 element was defined by active and passive
circuit nodes. Active nodes were those connected to an electric circuit while passive nodes were those
used internally by the elements and not connected to the circuit. In the current coupled circuit source
option, the passive nodes were the actual nodes of a coil modeled in the electromagnetic field domain.
A circuit, with CIRCU124 elements as shown in Fig. 5, consisting of independent current source and
standard coils, was used to feed the damped transient sinusoidal current through the work coil.
The independent current source was excited by an AC sinusoidal pulse by assigning the appropriate
key options like current offset, current amplitude, frequency, etc. as shown in Fig. 6.

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

Fig. 7. Simulation result of the input source current waveform.

The time-varying current fed through the external circuit to the coil produced a magnetic flux around
the coil and induced eddy currents in the sheets to be welded. Interaction between the two circuits gave
rise to an induced electromotive force (emf) due to the mutual induction process. Mutual inductance
depended upon the geometry of both coil and sheet and their orientation with respect to each other. When
the separation distance between them increased, the flux linkage got reduced leading to a reduction in
the mutual inductance.
4. Results of the numerical simulations with ANSYS/EMAG
4.1. Current flow in the circuit
ANSYS software can calculate the total current flowing in a conducting body for a 2-D planar magnetic
field analysis. The current waveform shown in Fig. 7 was the source current fed to the coil from an
independent current source for the purpose of simulation. The damped sinusoidal waveform with the
peak current of 130 kA as shown in the graph validated that the input conditions to the ANSYS are in
accordance with the experimental condition.

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

Fig. 8. Contour plot of magnetic flux.

4.2. Contour plot of 2D flux lines

The flux developed by the damped sinusoidal current is depicted in Fig. 8. It shows the plot of the
equi-potential lines of AZ. These equi-potential lines are actually also the flux lines in this 2D case and
thus, give us a good picture of the flux patterns. The contours are in accordance with the theoretical form
of the flux pattern.
4.3. Magnetic flux density
The magnetic flux density for the numerical simulation is shown in Fig. 9 and its maximum value is
found to be 30 Tesla. The analytically calculated value of the magnetic flux density is about 33 T (using
Eq. (1)) [10].






[tan1 b/2d1 + tan1 b/2d2 ]
B = I
(1)
b
The values of d1 and d2 in Eq. (1) are determined for the initial position of the sheets with respect to
the coil, i.e., position of sheets before collision. The values of d 1 and d2 , determined using the initial
position of the sheets with respect to the coils, i.e., at the time of collision, are given below.
where, I = discharge current; A,
b = width of the middle I shaped web portions of the coil; = 5 mm,
d1 , d2 = distances of the sheets from the inner surfaces of the upper and lower I shaped web of the
coil respectively; m
At initial position of the sheet, d1 = d2 = 0.07 103 m
The contour plot shows that the penetration of the magnetic field through the sheets was negligible.
This means that maximum amount of magnetic field was available for inducing the current in the sheets.

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

Fig. 9. Vector plot of magnetic flux.

4.4. Current density in the sheets

The Al sheets, kept in the vicinity of the work coil, cut the magnetic field developed and a current got
induced in the sheets. Figure 10 shows the vector plot of the induced eddy current densities in the sheet.
It has shown that the induced current density pattern and magnitude were the same for Al sheets. The
current density was maximum on the surfaces of sheets facing the coil due to the skin depth phenomenon.
4.5. EM lorentz forces acting on the sheet
The EM Lorentz forces are shown in Fig. 11. The value of the Lorentz force was found to be 25 kN,
which was acting on the sheet area exactly opposite to the coil area. The force pattern showed that the
direction of the force was normal at the centre whereas it had some shear component away from the
centre. The normal component of the force was dominant at the centre whereas the shear component
was dominant at the edges. The normally acting force resulted in a rebounding effect leading to no-weld
region in the centre of the weld. The shear component at the edges helped in expelling out the oxides
and creating the weld.
5. Numerical simulations to determine the velocity of impact
ABAQUS 6.6-3 commercial software was used for determining the velocity by numerical modeling
of the EM welding process. The magnetic force obtained from the ANSYS/EMAG analysis was used to

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

Fig. 10. Vector plot of current density in the sheets.

Fig. 11. Vector plot for the Lorentz force acting on sheets and coil.

apply pressure as the input data for the impact analysis in ABAQUS software. The modeling was done
using ABAQUS Explicit Dynamic Analysis, which was computationally efficient for analysis of large
models with relatively short dynamic response times and for analysis of extremely discontinuous events

10

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

and processes.
The Explicit Dynamics Analysis procedure was based upon the implementation of an explicit integration rule together with the use of diagonal (lumped) element mass matrices. The equations of motion
for the body were integrated using the explicit central-difference integration rule [22].
u N
= u N
+
(i+ 1 )
(i 1 )
2

t(i+1) + t(i) N
u
(i)
2

N
uN
N
(i+1) = u(i) + t(i+1) u
(i+ 1 )
2

(2)
(3)

where, uN is a degree of freedom (a displacement or rotation component) and the subscript i is the
increment number in an explicit dynamics step. The central-difference integration operator is explicit
in the sense that the kinematic state is advanced using known values of u N
and u
N
(i) from previous
(i 12 )
increment.
The explicit integration rule is quite simple but by itself does not provide the computational efficiency
associated with the explicit dynamics procedure. The key to the computational efficiency of the explicit
procedure is the use of diagonal element mass matrices because the accelerations at the beginning of the
increment are computed by
j
N J 1
J
u
N
) (P(i)
I(i)
)
(i) = (M

(4)

J is the applied load vector, and I J is the internal force vector.

where, M N J is the mass matrix, P(i)
(i)
A lumped mass matrix was used because its inverse was simple to compute and because the vector
multiplication of the mass inverse by the inertial force required only n operations, where n was the number
of degrees of freedom in the model. The explicit procedure required no iterations and no tangent stiffness
J , was assembled from contributions from the individual elements
matrix. The internal force vector, I(i)
obviating the need of forming global stiffness matrix for the purpose. ABAQUS/EXPLICIT allowed
choosing from wide variety of material models. In the present work, the Johnson-Cook constitutive
equation had been used to model the material behavior because it related flow stress to strain, strain rate
and temperature. The John-Cook equation is:

= (A + B(
)n ) (1 + C ln p )(1 T m )

(5)

where = equivalent plastic strain,

p = plastic strain-rate for = 1.0/s and,
T =

T Troom
Tmelt Troom

The expression in the first set of brackets gives the stress as a function of strain for = 1.0 and T = 0.
The expressions in the second and third set of brackets represent the effects of strain rate and temperature,
respectively. The equivalent flow stress is the product of three factors representing strain hardening,
strain rate and temperature. Thus to describe the material behavior the values of the constants A, B, C, n
and m were required. The values of these constants reported in literature [23,24] are reproduced in the
table below.
Aluminum sheets of size (50 35 1) mm 3 were modeled with the symmetry in X direction at
plane ZY as shown in Fig. 12.

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

11

Table 1
Johnson-Cook constants
Al [22]
SS 304 [23]

A
148 MPa
350 MPa

B
345 MPa
275 MPa

C
0.001
0.022

n
0.183
0.360

m
0.859
1.0

Fig. 12. Geometry of the Al sheets modeled in ABAQUS.

The Al sheets were meshed with 3-D eight-node brick elements with reduced integration. The reduced
integration option used a lower-order integration to form the element stiffness. The mass matrix and
distributed loadings used full integration. Reduced integration lowers running time, especially in three
dimensions. The mesh was suitably partitioned so as to create a fine mesh at the impact zone, which was
required to assimilate the large deformation. Also, to improve the computational efficiency, only half
parts of the work sheets were modeled. The only boundary condition used was that of the symmetry,
i.e., free flight impact of aluminum sheets was modeled.
5.1. Coupling and loading
To reduce the complexity, the present work was based on a loosely-coupled model. Loosely-coupling
was used because electromagnetic force obtained was independent of the deformation behaviour of the
two sheets and no software or finite element code was used for linking the ANSYS/EMAG output to the
ABAQUS input. Two processes were interlaced by using the output force obtained in 2D ANSYS/EMAG
simulations for manually feeding the input pressure on the entire 3D mechanical model of the impact
zone in ABAQUS simulations. The same variation of the electromagnetic force over the two dimensions
of the weld configuration was assumed to prevail all along the third dimension in the 3D model. Figure 12
shows the applied electromagnetic pressure on the impact zone below the current carrying coils. Abaqus
allows a sinusoidal variation of pressure load over a selected area. Only positive cycle of electromagnetic
pressure pulse was used on the sheets to avoid their movement away from each other. Hence only the
positive cycle of the pressure pulse was applied by setting the step time (i.e. the time for which load was
active) equal to the half the pulse time used in ANSYS/EMAG and ABAQUS. The pressure loading on
the sheets was of the nature as shown in the Fig. 13.

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S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

Fig. 13. Variation of applied electromagnetic pressure with time.

Fig. 14. Al-Al Velocity of impact.

Fig. 15. Al-to-Al velocity of impact w.r.t. time.

5.2. Impact velocity determined from ABAQUS simulations

5.2.1. Impact velocity for Al-to-Al case
Simulation result for two Al sheets impacting on each other is shown in Fig. 14. The impact velocity
was found to be maximum at the center, and it was decreasing towards the edges. Sheets attained
maximum impact velocity just before the collision, and at the time of collision the velocity became zero

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

13

Fig. 16. Al-to-SS velocity of impact.

Fig. 17. Al-SS velocity of impact w.r.t. time.

as shown in Fig. 15. For Al-to-Al sheets the velocity of impact at 25 kN magnetic force was found to be
145 m/s from the simulation.
5.2.2. mpact velocity for Al-to-SS case
Simulation result for two Al and SS sheets impacting on each other is shown in Fig. 16. Al driver
was used to drive the electrically poor conducting SS sheet. Just before the collision, sheets attained
maximum velocity as shown in Fig. 17. For Al-to-SS sheets the velocity of impact at 30 kN magnetic
force was found to be 139 m/s. After the impact, welded sheets showed vibration due to instability in air.
5.3. Analytical calculations for velocity
Due to similarity of the EM and explosive welding techniques, and non-availability of any criterion for
the EM welding, explosive welding criterion was adopted to obtain the weldability condition for different
material combinations. A detailed analysis and discussion about the explosive welding criterion can be
found in [25,26].

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S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

5.3.1. Velocity calculations for EM welding of similar metals

The velocity of impact is one of the deciding factors for occurrence of weld and/or formation of a
wavy interface at the weld. Many researchers have studied in detail the effect of velocity and collision
angle on the occurrence of the weld. The minimum velocity of impact required for the weld occurrence
for similar metals can be determined from the following expression [25],
U=

TU

1/
2

(6)

where,
T U = Ultimate tensile stress
S = Bulk sound velocity
The velocity of impact required for welding two Al (Al 1050) sheets, having values of T U and S
equal to 76 MPa and 5100 m/s respectively, was determined to be 123 m/s from the equation.
5.3.2. Velocity calculations for EM weld of dissimilar metals
Explosive welding involves an oblique collision of two sheets, which are to be welded. It considers
three controlling conditions for weldability. These are: the critical angle for jet formation (), the critical
impact pressure for jet formation in the subsonic state (P ), and the critical impact velocity (V ). For any
impact state (, V ), the impact pressure can be deduced from,
P =

1
Zeq U cos
2

(7)

where Zeq is the equivalent acoustic impedance of the colliding sheets defined by:
Zeq =

1/ + 1/
Z2
Z1

(8)

where,
Z1 = 1 s1 is the flyer sheet acoustic impedance
Z2 = 2 s2 is the base sheet acoustic impedance
s1 and s2 are the speeds of sound in the flyer and base sheet materials respectively, and 1 , 2 are the
material densities of the two sheets.
In order to weld two metal sheets by impact welding technique, a particular minimum pressure must
be exceeded. This minimum pressure, when applied, creates an impact between the colliding sheets and
removes the oxide layer due to formation of jet. The minimum pressure for Al and other alloys can be
estimated by [25,26]:
P = 5 Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL)

where HEL is given as [19],



4
1 K
+
Y0
HEL =
2 G
3

(9)

(10)

where, K is the bulk modulus, G is the shear modulus and Y 0 is the tensile yield stress. The material
properties of Al and SS material used are summarized in Table 2 below.

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

15

Table 2
Material properties of Al and SS [26]
Sr.No

Material

1
2

Al
SS

Density
(kg/m3 )
2700
8000

Bulk modulus,
K, (GPa)
76
120

Shear modulus,
G, (GPa)
26
90

Tensile yield
stress, Y 0 (MPa)
28
215

Speed of sound,
S, (m/s)
5100
5130

Table 3
Comparison of impact velocities
Sr
No

1
2

Material

Size (mm3 )

Al-Al
Al-SS (with
Al driver)

50 100 1
SS-50 50 0.25
Al-50 100 1

Minimum velocity required

for impact welding,
determined from
literature [24,25]
123 m/s
136 m/s

Impact velocity determined

from numerical simulations
using ANSYS/
EMAG and ABAQUS
145 m/s
139 m/s

Fig. 18. Al-Al EM weld showing maximum negative pressure at the centre leading to no-weld zone.

The estimated values of impact velocities for welding Al-to-Al and Al-to-SS by numerical simulation
using ANSYS/EMAG were 145 m/s and 139 m/s respectively. The values of velocities of impact required
for welding Al-to-Al and Al-to-SS derived from analytical calculations Eqs (710) were 123 m/s and
136 m/s respectively. Thus, the velocities obtained by simulation are higher than the required minimum
values, and hence the feasibility of the weld creation was verified analytically, which corroborates well
with the previously published experimental results [14,15]. The results are summarized in Table 3.
6. Spatial variation of pressure
6.1. Al-to-Al sheets
Figure 18 shows simulation result for the variation in pressure along the impact zone. It was found,
for the case of Al-to-Al sheets, that the negative pressure (pressure acting away from collision direction)
acting was maximum along the central line. This was due to the restitution effect being maximum at

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S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

Fig. 19. Deformation pattern of experimental specimen showing weld line and negative pressure zone.

Fig. 20. Al-SS weld with Al driver showing absence of negative pressures.

the center. The normally acting force at the center gives rebounding effect at the center and results
in no-weld zone [14]. Figure 19 shows the deformation pattern of an experimental specimen showing
weld line and the negative pressure zone leading to no-weld region. Thus the simulation result was in
accordance with the experimental result.
6.2. Al-to-SS sheets with Al driver
In case of Al-to-SS sheets, electrically inferior conducting SS sheet was driven with the help of Al
driver sheet. When Al and SS sheets impact on each other the force acting at the center had higher shear
component as compared to normal component. This was due to the deformation of Al driver, which
made the normally acting magnetic force on the SS sheet at center to be predominantly shear force. This
was confirmed by the pressure profile shown in Fig. 20. The use of Al driver sheet reduced negative
pressure acting at the center of the SS sheet, which resulted into complete metal continuity without any
no-weld zone at the center.

S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

17

Fig. 21. Al-to-Al sheets with Al driver showing absence of negative pressure.

6.3. Al-to-Al sheets with Al driver

Although Al being electrically good conducting material, a simulation of Al-to-Al impact was carried
out with using Al driver to confirm the finding that the driver sheet changed the pressure profile and
resulted into complete metal continuity without any no-weld zone at the center. The result obtained from
the simulation with combined ANSYS/EMAG and ABAQUS is shown in Fig. 21. It confirmed that in
case of Al-to-Al sheets if we use driver sheet of Al the negative pressure at the center is absent, which
results into complete metal continuity without any no-weld zone.
Thus the normally acting force at the center was the reason for negative pressure and in turn for the
corresponding no-weld zone. In the present analysis the effect of oxide layer was ignored, which was
also one of the vital factors for no-weld zone at the center for Al [14].
7. Conclusions
Feasibility of EM welding of flat sheets has been successfully established by comparing velocity
of impact determined using ANSYS/EMAG and ABAQUS softwares and minimum impact velocity
estimated from analytical calculations. The numerical simulation results for the EM weld feasibility
were in accordance with the previously published experimental results [14,15].
Spatial pressure distribution on sheets determined from numerical simulation was in agreement with
the experimental results. It is confirmed from the numerical simulation results that normally acting force
at the center is the reason for no-weld zone at the centre in Al-to-Al EM weld. Restitution effect, being
maximum at the center, has created negative pressure giving rebounding effect and resulted in no-weld
zone. Due to the use of Al driver in case of Al-to-SS sheets the normally acting force has dominating
shear component at centre and produced continuous EM welds without any no-weld zone.
In future, numerical simulations can be carried out for three dimensional models of the coil and sheets
with strong coupling between the electromagnetic and structural code by using the softwares like LS
Dyna. The impact velocity can be measured and compared with the numerical results to validate the
numerical models.

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S.D. Kore et al. / Numerical modeling of electromagnetic welding

Acknowledgements
Authors thank Dr. R.C. Sethi Former Head, APPD, BARC, Mr. D.P. Chakravarty Head APPD, BARC
and Dr. K.V. Nagesh, Head EPPS, APPD, BARC, for kindly permitting the use of the experimental
facility available at BARC. Authors also thank Mr. S.V. Desai, Mr. R.K. Rajawat, Mr. M.R. Kulkarni,
Ms. Dolly Rani and Mr. Satendra Kumar from APPD, BARC for their valuable suggestions and help
while conducting the experiments. Authors thank Dr. Ganesh Kumbhar for his vital help for numerical
simulations in ANSYS/ EMAG.

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