Mechanical buckling analysis of explosive welded joints used in shipbuilding

Aluminum superstructures and steel hull connections are of fundamental importance in ships. This study regards the buckling analysis of explosion welded joints, made of three layers (ASTM A516 low carbon steel, pure aluminium, A5086 aluminium alloy) and used in ship structures. Tensile and compressive tests were carried out on explosion welded specimens. The Infrared Thermography was used to detect the superficial temperature of the specimen during the tensile test and three phases of the temperature evolution were observed. The Digital Image Correlation technique was applied during the tests for the detection of displacement and strain fields. A theoretical analysis, considering the different materials was also performed for the analysis of buckling, which occurred during the compressive tests. Furthermore, a non-linear finite element analysis, considering the different mechanical properties of the explosive welded joint, was performed and was validated by means of the experimental results, obtained by the compressive tests.