Did you leave the heat on with the contents of the pan dry?
The popping/delaminating is a known issue if the pan is allowed to overheat (water boiled off and gas kept on an empty pan, or same equivalent on induction)
If you leave the pan on top of an induction plate with contents empty, clad layers will delaminate. It is almost always from overheating. It’s almost impossible to overheat the pan as long as there is some moisture (water) left inside. Once it’s dry, temperatures can ramp up to melting the bonding layers.
I once ruined one of the original All-Clad copper core pans that way. It was a rare one with extra-thick core (both 1mm of aluminum and 1mm of copper). I heard popping and I had let a pot of water boil off and had forgotten the gas stove was on. Tiny copper balls were forming at the exposed copper ring and flying across the kitchen.
It also depends on the process in which the layers were bonded. High temperature bonded copper (like Falk Copper Coeur) is probably less likely to delaminate than All-Clad copper core or DeBuyer Prima Matera. BTW, I’m making a huge plug for Falk Copper because of its value. The clad line is not as pretty as the Debuyer (fully clad with copper essentially hidden), but it is half the price and built like a mofo tank, heats eventually with less than 10% lower heating time than the full on 2.5 mil standard copper line. Also, all copper products have the very functional pouring lip which is almost impossible to find on other copper pans. Again, it has to do with Falk’s technology in how the cookware is made and pressed.
