Steel has excellent strength and toughness, which allows composites to withstand significant external forces and impacts. Therefore, the use of steel-based explosive cladding materials in a number of high-strength structures (e.g., bridge construction and large-scale machine building) ensures the stability and safety of the structure.

Common base steels include carbon steel and alloy steel. Carbon steel is relatively low-cost, and at the same time has good mechanical properties that can meet the needs of most general working conditions. Alloy steel, on the other hand, by adding various alloying elements, further improves the performance of the material, such as wear-resistant, corrosion-resistant and other characteristics. For example, in some harsh working environments, such as the chemical industry, marine and other fields, the use of special properties of alloy steel as the base layer, can greatly extend the service life of the composite material.