Sudden Forming of Aluminum and Steel Sheets in Air and Water Fluid Bed

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Velayat University, Iranshahr, Iran

Abstract

Explosive sheet forming is a novel and rapid metal forming technique that has garnered significant attention from researchers and industries due to its ability to reduce production time and cost. This study provides a comprehensive investigation into the production of lenticular-shaped parts using this process. Experimental tests were conducted using aluminum alloy (AL5010) and steel (St37) sheets with a thickness of 1 mm and a diameter of 100 mm, employing PETN as the explosive material. The experiments focused on three key parameters: sheet material, the type of interstitial fluid (water and air), and the stand-off distance (distance between the explosive material and the sheet surface). The results showed that reducing the stand-off distance from 6 mm to 5 mm increased the blast wave strength by 58.2%. Further reducing the distance to 3 mm led to an impressive 863% increase, demonstrating the potential to amplify the blast wave’s strength by up to nine times. Qualitative analysis revealed that using water as the interstitial fluid significantly improved the surface quality of the formed parts compared to air. This improvement can be attributed to water's incompressibility, which ensures a more uniform transfer of the blast wave to the sheet surface. Additionally, aluminum sheets exhibited greater deformation and deflection compared to steel sheets, a behavior linked to their distinct mechanical and metallurgical properties. These findings contribute to advancing scientific and practical knowledge in the field of explosive forming and highlight the potential of this method for producing high-quality components with superior efficiency in various industrial applications.

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