Peculiarities of Weld Seams and Adjacent Zones Structures Formed in Process of Explosive Welding of Sheet Steel Plates

The structure and mechanical properties of the laminates produced by explosive welding of low carbon steel were investigated. The maximum number of layers in the composites was 21. It was shown that the structure of the composite is not uniform across the thickness of the layers and along the boundaries in the shape of the wave. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the sizes of the grain-subgrain clusters forming in the weld adjacent zones are about 100…400 nm. The maximum temperature was reached in the areas of the vortices. High-strength martensite was formed in these zones in the process of cooling. The strength properties and toughness of the com-posite is almost 2 times higher compared with the properties of the original plates. It was shown that the boundaries of welds are the barriers inhibiting the development of fatigue cracks.