Explosion Welding

By: Anurag Singh(09119011)

Basics
Explosion welding is a solid-state process that produces a high velocity interaction of dissimilar metals by a controlled detonation.

It has been found to be possible to weld together combinations of metals, which are impossible, by other means.

Surface atoms of two joining metals must come into intimate contact to achieve metallic bond

Component Terminology
Base component
Joined to cladder Remains stationary Supported by anvil

Cladding metal
Thin plate in direct contact with explosives Can be shielded by flyer plate

 Flyer plate
Sacrificial plate placed between explosive material and cladder plate Used to protect cladder metal

Interlayer
Thin metal layer Enhances joining of cladder to base plate

Anvil
Surface of which the backer rests during explosion

 Standoff
Distance between cladder and base plate before explosion

Bond Window
A range of variable in process such as velocity, dynamic bend, and standoff distance that result in successful weld

Bonding Operation
Detonation of explosives that result in a weld

Placement of Cladder metal-parallel

Stand-off distance predetermined and unique to material combination Achieved by placing shims between plates Shims designed to be consumed by explosion wave and do not affect weld Usually ranges between 0.5-2 times the thickness of cladder plate Cladder must reach critical velocity before impact

Principle of Explosion
Cladder metal can be placed parallel or inclined to the base plate Explosive material is distributed over top of cladder metal

Upon detonation, cladder plate collides with base plate to form weld

How????????.........
When an explosive is detonated on the surface of a metal, a high pressure pulse is generated. This pulse propels the metal at a very high rate of speed. If this piece of metal collides at an angle with another piece of metal, welding may occur. For welding to occur, a jetting action is required at the collision interface. This jet is the product of the surfaces of the two pieces of metals colliding. This cleans the metals and allows to pure metallic surfaces to join under extremely high pressure. The metals do not commingle, they are atomically bonded. Due to this fact, any metal may be welded to any metal (i.e.- copper to steel; titanium to stainless).

 1. Flyer (cladding). 2 Re-solidified zone (needs to be minimized for welding of dissimilar materials). 3 Target (substrate). 4 Explosion. 5 Explosive powder. 6 Plasma jet.

Explosive material
High velocity (14750-25000 ft/s)
Trinitrotoluene (TNT) Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN)

Mid-low velocity (4900-14750 ft/s)

Ammonium nitrate Ammonium perchlorate Amatol

Assuring a good weld

Sonic velocity of cladding material can calculated using:

Where: K = adiabatic bulk modulus = cladding material density E = Youngs Modulus of cladding material = Poissons ratio of cladding material

Assuring a good weld

Detonation velocity is a function of
Explosive type Composition of explosive Thickness of explosive layer Can be found in tables

Assuring a good weld

Three types of detonation wave welds
Shock wave develops if sonic velocity is greater than 120% of material sonic velocity (type 1)

Detached shock wave results when detonation velocity is between 100% and 120% of material sonic velocity (type 2)
No shock wave is produced if detonation velocity is less than material sonic velocity (type 3)

Assuring a good weld

Type 1 Material behind shock wave is compressed to peak pressure and density Creates significant plastic deformation locally and results in considerable shock hardening Type 2 & 3 Pressure is generated ahead of collision point of metals When subject to large pressures, metal ahead of collision point flows into spaces between plates and takes form of high-velocity jet Effaces material and removes unwanted oxides and other unwanted surface films No bulk diffusion and only localized melting

Applications
Any metal with sufficient strength and ductility can be joined

Applications

1) Joining of pipes and tubes. 2) Major areas of the use of this method are heat exchanger tube sheets and pressure vessels. 3) Tube Plugging. 4) Remote joining in hazardous environments. 5) Joining of dissimilar metals - Aluminum to steel, Titanium alloys to Cr Ni steel, Cu to stainless steel, Tungsten to Steel, etc. 6) Attaching cooling fins. 7) Other applications are in chemical process vessels, ship building industry, cryogenic industry, etc.

Common industries that use explosion welding

Chemical Processing Petroleum Refining Hydrometallurgy Aluminum Smelting Shipbuilding Electrochemical Oil & Gas Power Generation Cryogenic Processing Pulp & Paper Air conditioning & Chillers Metal Production

Corrosion-Resistant Linings
Used for pressure vessels, chemical process tanks, heat exchangers, and tube sheets. In addition, there is a significant cost reduction afforded by the opportunity to utilize structural steels to improve wall strength without having to manufacture the entire structure from the typically costly corrosionresistant metals.

This shell and tube heat exchanger was manufactured from zirconium-clad steel for use in the chemical industry

Chemical Process Vessels

On the other dimensional scale, explosion welding can be used to create some rather large structures. Dynamic Materials Corp. explosively clads large plates of hot-rolled carbon steel with corrosion- resistant materials such as titanium or stainless steel. The plates are rolled into cylinders then welded together to form large process and pressure vessels. Plates 40 ft long and ten ft wide are routinely bonded

This large high-pressure autoclave is used to leach laterite nickel ore in hot sulfuric acid. The vessel is constructed from corrosion-resistant titanium clad to 4-in.- thick steel for strength

Hermetic Electronic Packaging

Electronics packages used for modern military and aerospace applications invariably require the use of lightweight materials while simultaneously providing the utmost in reliability. In the past, connectors made from steel were gold plated then soldered into a gold-plated aluminum housing. With prolonged usage and temperature swings, the solder joints were prone to fail. This allowed moisture to enter the housing and cause the entire unit to fail. By utilizing precision- machined aluminum-to-steel explosively welded transitions, eliminating solder joints entirely .As an added benefit, should a connector fail, the damaged part can be machined out and a new connector welded in its place, without affecting the rest of the package. With solder technology, connector removal requires heating the entire package, which could destroy the housing.

This aluminum electronics pack- age features steel connectors in an allwelded construction

Advantages
1) Can bond many dissimilar, normally unweldable metals

2) Minimum fixturing/jigs. 3) Simplicity of the process. 4) Extremely large surfaces can be bonded. 5) Wide range of thicknesses can be explosively clad together.

6) No effect on parent properties.

7) Small quantity of explosive used.

THANKS