Magnetic pulse cladding of aluminum alloy on mild steel tube

Bi-metal tubes, which combine the advantageous properties of two different metals, are desirable in industries where corrosion resistance is important. A new cladding method named magnetic pulse cladding (MPC) was used to form bi-metal tubes. A cladding of mild steel tube by aluminum alloy (AA3003) was achieved. The effect of the geometry of the field shaper on cladding quality was investigated as well as other main process parameters, such as, feeding size, radial gap and discharge voltage. The mechanical property was evaluated by compression-shear test and a maximum strength of 79.2 MPa and an average of 29.7 MPa were attained to by the following process settings: profiled field shaper, feeding size of 12 mm, radial gap of 2.0 mm and discharge voltage of 15 kV. OM and SEM images show a smooth integral interface and a small wavy one. EDS mapping reveals the interfacial diffusion zone up to 50-μm wide. The results show that the proposed MPC process is able to form sound cladding bonds and could be applicable to a tubular clad component with a high axial length.