Electromagnetic pulse welding (EMPW) enables solid-state joining of dissimilar metals such as aluminium and stainless steel in tubular configurations, offering significant advantages for lightweight components in automotive drive shafts, cryogenic couplings, and energy bus-bars. Conventional fusion welding induces brittle intermetallic compounds due to thermal mismatch, whereas EMPW avoids bulk melting but is hindered by slow industrial adoption owing to extensive trial-and-error optimisation of discharge energy, coil design, air gap, and geometry. This work develops a coupled electromagnetic–structural axisymmetric finite-element model for driverless aluminium-to-stainless-steel tubular EMPW. Under experimental discharge conditions (27.2 kJ stored energy, 212 kA peak current), the model predicts peak flyer-surface magnetic flux density of 28 T, Lorentz force density up to 1.5 × 10¹² N/m³, and central impact velocity of 328 m/s. Final radial displacements (3.2 mm free end, 1.0 mm fixed end) and conical deformation profiles agree with experimental measurements within 4%. Coil edge effects generate axial non-uniformity in flux and force (~25% reduction from center to ends), resulting in sequential collision with central contact by ~20 µs and edge closure by ~25 µs. This propagating contact front expels trapped air and contaminants, promoting oxide-free, leak-tight bonding. Parametric analysis of peak current (160–220 kA) reveals a near-linear increase in central radial displacement of 12.5 ± 0.8% per 10 kA increment, providing a practical design rule. The validated model serves as an efficient virtual tool for rapid parameter optimisation, substantially reducing reliance on physical experimentation for lightweight dissimilar tubular joints.
Kollur et al. (Sun,) studied this question.