Computational Modeling of Magnetic Pulse Dissimilar Alloys Welding: Aluminum Alloy 6082-T6 and HC420LA Steel

The use of lightweight materials such as high-strength steel, aluminum alloys, and composites is increasing. The joints of dissimilar alloys as the aluminum alloy 6082-T6 and the HC420LA steel are studied in this work. The selected joining process is the magnetic pulse welding (MPW) which enables welding of these two alloys, being non-joinable by other traditional welding technologies. The technology involves a strong electromagnetic–mechanical–thermal interaction. The investigation will be developed mostly on computational modeling by means of using LS-DYNA software, taking into account the key process parameters and their influence. The work includes experimental results for validating the numerical analysis. All the analyzed cases showed welding of the blanks, which was confirmed by metallographic characterization. The simulations show the same deformation behavior as experiments.