The Theory of Laser Materials Processing

The purpose of this book is to show how general principles afford insight into laser processes. The principles may be from fundamental physical theory or from direct observation, but understanding of the general characteristics of a process is essential.

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Theuseoflasersinmaterialsprocessinghasbecomewidespreadinrecent years,sothatanunderstandingofthenatureofheatandmasstransferin thisbranchofmoderntechnologyisofincreasingimportance. Theaimofthe authorsofthisbookistoconcentrateonthephysicalprocesses;thesecanbe developedfromamathematicalpointofview,orfromdirectexperimental- derivedobservation. Thetwoapproachesarecomplementary;eachcanprovide insightsandthesynthesisofthetwocanleadtoaverypowerfulunderstanding oftheprocessesinvolved. Mathematicalmodellingofphysicalprocesseshas hadanimportantroletoplayinthedevelopmentoftechnologyoverthe centuriesandparticularlysointhelastonehundredand?ftyyearsorso. Itcanbearguedthatitismoreimportanttodaythaneverbeforesincethe availabilityofhigh-speedcomputersallowsaccuratenumericalsimulationof industrialprocessesatafractionofthecostofthecorrespondingexperiments. Thisisoneaspectofmathematicalmodelling,highpro?leandmuchvalued, butitisnottheonlyone. Inthepastmathematicalmodellinghadtorelyonqualitativeinves- gation,veryspecialanalyticalsolutions,orinaccurateandtime-consuming calculationsperformedwithlittleinthewayoftabulatedormechanical assistance.
Logtablesandsliderulesarestillrememberedbypeopleworking today,thoughtherearesurelyfewwhoregrettheirdisappearance. Thevalueanddistinctivefunctionofmethodsbasedontheanalytical approachisnowbecomingmuchclearer,nowthattheyarenolongerexpected toproducedetailedimitationsofwhathappensinrealexperimentsofind- trialprocesses,afunctionnowful?lledmostlybynumericalmethods,c- sideredbelow. Theemphasistodayisontheirabilitytocon?rmandextend ourunderstandingofthebasicphysicalmechanismsinvolvedintheprocesses of interest. These are essential for any intelligent use of numerical simulation. Theargumentaboutthevalueofteachingpeoplehowtodoarithmetic themselveswithouttheaidofacalculatorseemstobepassingintohistory, vi Preface butitisanimportantoneandprovidesasimpleanalogy. Ifsomeonedoes nothaveafeelingfornumbersandthewayarithmeticworks,theywillalltoo easilyfailtospotanerrorproducedbyamachine. Computersarenotinfallible -andneitherarethosewhobuildorprogramthem. Computersarenow takingonlessmundanemathematicaltasksandthesamecontroversiesare appearinginconnectionwithalgebraicmanipulation.
Equally,andwitheven greaterpenaltiesintermsofcostintheeventoferrors,thesameconsiderations applytonumericalsimulationofmajorindustrialprocesses. Awarenessofthe analyticalsolutionscanbeinvaluableindistinguishingtherightfromthe wrong,i. e. forthepractitionertounderstandthebasisofthework,andto haveanideaofthekindsofoutcomesthatareplausible-andtorecognise thosewhicharenot. Thephrase"mathematicalmodelling"is,however,ambiguous,perhaps morenowthanithaseverbeen. Thereisanenormousamountofworkdone todayonsimulationbasedontheuseofverypowerfulcomputerprograms, anditisquitecorrectlyreferredtoasmathematicalmodelling. Theprograms aresometimesconstructedin-housebutareusuallycommercialpackages. This isanentirelyvalidapproachwithspeci?c(generallycommercial)objectives. Ingeneraltherearetwouses. Thedominantobjectiveisnumericalagreement withaparticularexperimentinthe?rstinstance,leadingtopredictivec- mercialuseinthesecondinstance. Thesecondobjectiveistheclari?cation ofphysicalmechanisms,aimedatthegenerationofunderstandingofcomplex interconnectedprocesses,ratherthantheexactreproductionofaparticular experiment. Itissometimesoverlookedthat,withsu?cientcare,anum- icalapproachisequallyvalidintheinvestigationofphysicalfundamentals.
Numericalsimulationisnotacentraltopicofthisbook,butbecauseofits crucialimportancetoeachofthetwousestowhichnumericalmodellingcan beput,itisvitalthatthecomputationalbasisoftheworkshouldbec- pletelysound. Inaddition,thelevelofprocessdetailwhichcanbeconsidered bythenumericalapproachusuallyexceedswhatispossiblewiththeanaly- calapproachsigni?cantly,leavinglittlechoicebuttoreverttothenumerical treatmentwheninvestigatingtheinterconnectionsbetweenprocesses. Itis forthesereasonsthatthebookconcludeswithachapteroncomprehensive numericalsimulation. Inmanyways,theapproachadoptedhereiscomplementarytothemore phenomenologicalapproach. Itisalwaysimportantina?eldwhichhasvery directindustrialapplicationstobearinmindhowtechniquessuchasthose describedherewillbeused,butitisessentialnottolosesightofthef- damentals. Thereareserioussafetyimplications;therearecostimplications; therearemoralimplications;thereareconsiderationsoftheappropriateness ofthetechnologytotheapplicationunderconsideration. Aproperrespectfor alltheserequiresanunderstandingofthefundamentals. Wearealltoowellawarethatthisbookdoeslittlemorethanscratch thesurfaceoftheproblemsinvolvedinafundamentalunderstandingofthese phenomena.
Ifwehaveprovidedideasandinformationthatcauseothersto Preface vii testthemexperimentallyorintellectually,agreewiththemordisputethem vigorously,anddevelopthemfurther,wewillconsiderthatwehaveachieved ouraim. Colchester April,2008 JohnDowden Contents 1MathematicsinLaserProcessing JohnDowden...1 1. 1 MathematicsanditsApplication...1 1. 2 FormulationinTermsofPartialDi?erentialEquations...3 1. 2. 1 LengthScales...3 1. 2. 2 ConservationEquationsandtheirGeneralisations...4 1. 2. 3 GoverningEquationsofGeneralised ConservationType...7 1. 2. 4 Gauss'sLaw...10 1. 3 BoundaryandInterfaceConditions...11 1. 3. 1 GeneralisedConservationConditions...11 1. 3. 2 TheKinematicConditioninFluidDynamics...13 1. 4 Fick'sLaws...15 1. 5 Electromagnetism...15 1. 5. 1 Maxwell'sEquations...15 1. 5. 2 Ohm'sLaw...18 References...19 2SimulationofLaserCutting WolfgangSchulz,MarkusNiessen,UrsEppelt,KerstinKowalick...21 2. 1 Introduction...22 2. 1. 1 PhysicalPhenomenaandExperimentalObservation...23 2. 2 MathematicalFormulationandAnalysis...26 2. 2. 1 TheOne-PhaseProblem...29 2. 2. 2 TheTwo-PhaseProblem...42 2. 2. 3 Three-PhaseProblem...51 2. 3 Outlook...64 2. 4 Acknowledgements...65 References...6
5 x Contents 3KeyholeWelding:TheSolidandLiquidPhases AlexanderKaplan...71 3. 1 HeatGenerationandHeatTransfer...71 3. 1. 1 Absorption...