Direct consideration of the explosive material role in the explosive welding simulations with qualitative and quantitative validation

Abstract

Explosive welding (EXW) is a high-speed process used to join dissimilar materials and produce large surface sheet products. While traditionally reliant on experimental observations of welded interfaces, this approach offers limited insight into the dynamic phenomena during flyer and base plate collisions, hindering the development of closed-loop control systems. Therefore, numerical modeling has emerged as a critical tool to optimize welding parameters and predict product properties more effectively. This research presents a novel physics-based numerical model for EXW, developed using a refined Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) framework. Unlike existing models that simplify or exclude the explosive material’s dynamics, this approach explicitly simulates explosive detonation, flyer plate response, and the resulting welding process. The model integrates comprehensive equations of state and constitutive laws to capture both macroscale and microscale phenomena observed in experiments. The key novelty lies in bridging microscale interface behavior with macroscale process outcomes, offering a detailed representation of vortex formation and weld quality. Validation against analytical solutions and experimental data demonstrates the model’s accuracy and ability to resolve critical features of the EXW process, providing a foundation for future optimization and control strategies.