Fatigue assessment of EMPT-welded joints using the reference radius concept

The electromagnetic pulse technology (EMPT) is a joining process similar to the explosion welding. In the process, a flyer-sheet is accelerated towards a target-sheet using electromagnetic fields. During impact high normal and lateral contact forces are generated which join the sheets on an atomic level. This process can be automated for joining thin sheets and is therefore especially suited for mass production, e.g. in the automotive industry. The resulting joints are not comparable to ones made by common MIG/MAG or laser welding processes since no heat is induced. This leads to the question if the standard approaches to assess the weld in terms of their fatigue behavior can be used also and if a reliable fatigue assessment can be achieved. In the paper, the fatigue strength of EMPT-welded connections under constant amplitude loading is presented. Common assessment approaches like the notch stress approach are applied to assess the fatigue life. A comparison between numerically derived fatigue life and experimental tests shows a good agreement and proves the applicability of established approaches.