MAGNETIC PULSE

WELDING

INTRODUCTION

MPW is a modern day state of the

art cold welding process or more
precisely a solid state welding
process having analogy to Explosive
welding (EXW) .

EXW takes help of energy due to the

detonation of explosives to cause the
impact of the workpieces. The
underlying principles of EXW and MPW
are the same.

However, MPW is more clean and

precise operation due to the use of
electromagnetic driving forces.
It is one of the variants of impact
welding
technologies
wherein
welding of two similar or dissimilar
materials occur via high-speed
impact of the metals.

MPW can also be termed as a shock

welding process where the current pulse
passing through the electromagnetic coil
surrounding the workpieces produce the
necessary high-pressure to attain a
successful weld.
The MPW process is free form the
emissions like fume, spatter, heat that are
typically produced during the conventional
welding techniques.

Working Principle

In MPW, a tremendous amount of

energy is compressed and discharged
in an extremely short period of time.
The basic principle is shown in the
figure below.
The work pieces are placed inside a
coil. A large amount of energy is
compressed and discharged in an
extremely short period of time.

Some systems can discharge up to

than 2 millions amps in only 100
microseconds.
The high energy flows in the coil, and
the discharge of electric energy
induces the so-called "eddy currents"
in the external work piece.
Both currents (in the coil and in the
external work piece) induce magnetic
fields, which oppose each other.

The reaction forces between the

opposing magnetic fields are forcing
the external part towards the internal
part at high velocity to cause
welding.
The impacting speed is more than
1000 km/h.
This
results
in
a
permanent
distortion, without spring-back of the
workpiece.

The actual process lasts no longer then 100

microseconds.
No protecting atmosphere, filler materials or
other aiding materials are necessary.
The magnetic pulse welding process is a
"cold" welding process, the material does not
get warmer than 30C.
Due to this, no heat affected zone is created,
and the metal is not degraded. The weld
becomes the strongest part of the assembly.

MPW Parameters
Discharge energy
Stored energy in the capacitor bank is
discharged into the coil and this energy is
responsible for the movement of the flyer
metal.
Discharge energy takes place in a very
short time in the range of a few
microseconds in order to accelerate the
flyer metal so that it impacts the other part
at a high velocity.

 Increasing the charging voltage or the

capacitance of condensers, increases the
discharge energy and thus, the shearing
strength of the welds will be enhanced .
In fact, there is a threshold value of the
discharge energy to produce the weld.
However, the correct energy must be used to
avoid exceeding critical strain rate of the
material that can tear them.
It means that for each material combination
there is a minimum of energy necessary to
join both materials, and there is a maximum
of energy before tearing or cracks to the
welding process.

 Standoff Distance
The standoff distance is the distance
between parts prior to the discharge.
This gap must exist at each welding,
because, when magnetic pressure is done
on the flyer metal, it must have space to
gain velocity and acquire kinetic energy that
is going to be transformed into impact
energy.
In order to have good welding between both
metals, there is an optimum value of
standoff distance, which varies according to
the welding materials.

 When standoff distance deviates from that

value, the velocity and the kinetic energy
reduces, leading to a reduction in the
shearing strength and the width of the weld
If the standoff distance is low, collision takes
place before the flyer metal could reach the
maximum velocity.
On the other hand, for higher standoff
distance, the velocity drops to a lower value
at the time of collision.
In terms of discharge energy, the higher the
gap, the higher should be the discharge
energy in order to obtain a good quality weld .

 Magnetic Pressure
Magnetic pressure is one of the parameters
responsible for driving the flyer metal into the
parent metal.
Due to the induced Eddy Current, the magnetic
pressure will oppose the magnetic field from the coil
and force the flyer metal to gain velocity until
collision.
In order to have a successful bond, the magnetic
pressure must be high, otherwise the flyer metal will
crash into the parent metal with lower velocity and
no bonding will occur.
High magnetic pressure can be obtained with high
discharge energy or high frequency current.

 Impact Velocity
The impact velocity is influenced by the energy
and the standoff distance.
In magnetic pulse welding the impact pressure is
very high and consequently, the impact velocity is
also very high, causing plastic deformation at the
interface between parts to weld.
The welding requires that both surfaces that are
going to be joined should be free of
contamination, and thus, the high velocity of the
flyer metal plays an important role, because it will
create a jet that will remove any contaminants or
oxidation particles from both contact surfaces

The impact velocity is directly

correlated with the energy and
discharge time from the capacitor,
through the coil into the flyer metal.
If the energy is transferred at low
velocity, the flyer work piece will
collapse and no bonding is produced.

What MPW Can Weld

Aluminum to aluminum.
Aluminum to copper.
Aluminum to magnesium.
Aluminum to titanium.
Copper to copper.
Copper to steel.
Copper to brass.
Nickel to titanium.
Nickel to nickel.
Steel to steel.

Advantages
The weld is stronger than the parent material : during
material testing the crack appears outside the weld area.
A protecting atmosphere, filler materials or other aid
materials are not necessary.
Magnetic pulse welding is a "cold" welding process, the
parts are not heated. Therefore no heat affected zone is
created, and no loss of material properties takes place.
This also means that the welded workpieces can be
unclamped immediately after welding and can be further
processed immediately.
High production speed, sometimes up to 10 pieces per
minute.
It is an ecological welding process, since no heat,
radiation, gas or welding fumes are produced.

Limitations
MPW is limited to tubular geometries and lap
joints.
Because of the way the process works, it is not
possible to create a butt weld with MPW.
Tubular is the easiest geometry, from both the
energy consumption and coil design
viewpoints. As long as the tubular part to be
moved is closed (for instance, a rectangular
tube), a strong eddy current will be generated
by the coil. A tube with a slit in it will not have
the conductivity necessary and therefore will
not react properly.

Applications
Dissimilar metal joints

Aluminium to copper

Aluminium-Stainless
steel (c) : Pulsar Ltd

Parts from the automotive industry

MPW vsMIG/MAG welding (airconditioning
parts)

Fuel filters

Drive axis (aluminium - steel connection) and

pressure vessel in an airconditioning system

Part from an exhaust system

References
Magnetic pulse welding: an efficient and
environmentally friendly multi-material
joining technique (Angshuman Kapil,
Abhay Sharma,) Journal of Cleaner Production
Magnetic pulse welding for tubular
applications: Discovering new technology
for welding conductive materials
TPJ - THE TUBE & PIPE JOURNAL MARCH
2000
JULY 26, 2001 BY:BEN-TZION SPITZ,
VICTOR SHRIBMAN
SOUDIMMA : Electromagnetic pulse
welding-The Belgian Welding Institute npo

u
o
y
k
n
a
h
T