<p>High strain rate forming has been shown to be an effective process for springback inhibition, improved formability and forming accuracy. However, high strain rate forming is constrained by an upper energy storage limit, leading to its limited application and development. Electric-pulse triggered energetic materials forming (ETEF) is a new technology developed on the basis of electrohydraulic forming, which can realize energy scaling and improves processing capability by introducing energetic materials (EMs). In this paper, the pulse discharge characteristics, underwater shock wave signal analysis and sheet deformation modelling involved in ETEF were thoroughly investigated. The pulse discharge signals showed that there was a delayed triggering characteristic of the wire-triggered EMs, and the phase-transformed wire in the pre-breakdown stage interacted with the EMs to produce a parallel current path, consuming about 210&#xa0;J of deposition energy and lowering the resistance of the discharge channel. Using the shock wave experimental platform, the underwater composite shock wave signals were detected, and the double logarithmic curves of peak pressure, specific time constant and specific impulse density were calculated for the composite shock loads. Based on the composite impact load, a fluid-sheet deformation response model was established. The model results were validated against experiments and numerical simulations, and the errors were within 8%, indicating that the model can well predict and guide the plastic deformation of sheets under ETEF composite impact load.</p>