Analysis of the explosive cladding of cu–low carbon steel plates

Explosive cladding is a solid state fusion welding process in which the joining of two metals is accomplished by the application of the pressure released by the detonation of an explosive pack. Experiments were conducted to clad low carbon steel (LCS) and copper (Cu) plates using nitroglycerine explosive (2500 m/s detonation velocity). A four-factor, five-level, center rotatable experimental design with 31 trials for single replication was adopted. All experiments were open air explosions. Models were developed to find the bond and shear strengths of the explosive clads at 99% confidence levels. The effects of flyer thickness, loading ratio, angle of inclination and stand-off on the clad strength is discussed.