Product Code: ICA12_1902

Numerical Simulation of Cut Kerf Formation Under the Influence of CO2 and Fiber Lasers
Authors:
Zaitsev Alexander, Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; Novosibirsk Russia
Gurin Alexei, Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; Novosibirsk Russia
Grigoriy Ermolaev, Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; Novosibirsk Russia
Presented at ICALEO 2012

Fiber laser cutting of metals is significantly different from cutting with CO2 laser. The nature of these differences is unknown. One possible reason is instability of the metal melting front movement under the action of radiation with different wavelengths.

In this paper the influence of laser radiation polarization and wavelength on cut kerf depth and formation dynamics is studied with a help of numerical simulation. Three-dimensional heat conduction problem with moving boundary is solved; absorption coefficient dependence on the angle of incidence is taken into account to. The main attention is paid to the differences in the cutting front dynamics in conditions of fiber laser (1.05 microns) and CO2 laser cutting processes.