In the laser treatment of a workpiece (9), e.g. for surface hardening, melting, alloying, cladding, welding or cutting, the adverse effect of reflectivity of the surface, when a pure, monochromatic laser (6) is used, is remedied by the simultaneous application of a relatively shorter wavelength beam (1). The two beams (1)(5) may be combined by a beam coupler (4) or may reach the workpiece (9) by separate optical paths (not shown). The shorter wavelength beam (1) improves the coupling efficiency of the higher- powered laser beam (5).

Laser Material Processing

Introduction to heat transfer

Non-Gaussian beam profiles such as Bessel or an- nular beams enable novel approaches to modifying materials through laser-based processing. In this review paper, proper- ties, generation methods and emerging applications for non- conventional beam shapes are discussed, including Bessel, an- nular, and vortex beams. These intensity profiles have important implications in a number of technologically relevant areas includ- ing deep-hole drilling, photopolymerization and nanopatterning, and introduce a new dimension for materials optimization and fundamental studies of laser-matter interactions.

Bessel and annular beams for materials processing

Inconel 718 superalloy has been fabricated by selective laser melting technology (SLM). Its microstructure and mechanical properties were studied under solution+aging (SA) standard heat treatment, homogenization+solution+aging (HSA) standard heat treatment and as-fabricated conditions. Precipitated phases and microstructures were examined using OM, SEM, TEM and X-ray analysis methods. The fine dendrite structures with an average dendrite arm spacing of approximately 698 nm accompanying some interdendritic Laves phases and carbide particles can be observed in the as-fabricated materials. After standard heat treatments, dendrite microstructures are substituted by recrystallization grains, and Laves phases also dissolve into the matrix to precipitate strengthening phases and δ particles. The test values of all specimens meet Aerospace Material Specification for cast Inconel 718 alloy, and the transgranular ductile fracture mode exists for the three conditions. The strength and hardness of heat-treated SLM materials increase and are comparable with wrought Inconel 718 alloy, whereas their ductility decreases significantly compared with the as-fabricated material. This is because of the precipitation of fine γˊ and γ〞strengthening phases and needle-like δ phases. For the as-fabricated alloy, the formation of finer dislocated cellular structures that develop into a ductile dimple fracture shows excellent ductility. Due to dislocation pinning from γˊ and γ〞strengthening phases and the impediment of dislocation motion caused by the needle-like δ phases, the ductility of the SA materials decreases and causes a transgranular fracture, compared with the as-fabricated samples.

Effect of standard heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of selective laser melting manufactured Inconel 718 superalloy

During the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process large temperature gradients can form, generating a mismatch in elastic deformation that can lead to high levels of residual stress within the additively manufactured metallic structure. Rapid melt pool solidification causes SLM processed Ti6Al4V to form a martensitic microstructure with a ductility generally lower than a hot working equivalent. Currently post-process heat treatments can be applied to SLM components to remove in-built residual stress and improve ductility. This study examined the effect of scanning strategy (scan vector lengths and scan vector rotation) and rescanning strategy on residual stress formation and mechanical properties of SLM Ti6Al4V parts. 90° alternating scanning strategy resulted in the lowest residual stress build-up for SLM Ti6Al4V parts built on both the standard and modified Renishaw platforms using a modulated Nd-YAG fiber laser. Scanning strategy did not show any direct correlation with mechanical properties. Re-scanning with 150% energy density resulted in 33.6% reduction in residual stress but the effect on mechanical properties was detrimental and samples failed prematurely. The study was based on detailed experimental analysis along with Finite Element simulation of the process using ABAQUS to understand the underlying physics of the process.

Effect of scanning strategies on residual stress and mechanical properties of Selective Laser Melted Ti6Al4V

Laser forming has received considerable attention in recent years. Within laser forming, tube bending is an important industrial activity, with applications in critical engineering systems like micro-machines, heat exchangers, hydraulic systems, boilers, etc. Laser tube bending utilizes the thermal stresses generated during laser scanning to achieve the desired bends. The parameters to control the process are usually laser power, beam diameter, scanning velocity and number of scans. Recently axial scanning has been used for tube bending instead of commonly used circumferential scans. However the comparison between the scanning schemes has involved dissimilar laser beam geometries with circular beam used for circumferential scanning and a rectangular beam for the axial scan. Thermal stresses generated during laser scanning are strongly dependent upon laser beam geometry and scanning direction and hence it is difficult to isolate the contribution made by these two variables. It has recently been established at the Corrosion and Protection Centre, University of Manchester, that corrosion properties of material during laser forming are affected by the number of laser passes. Depending on the material, the corrosion behaviour is either adversely or favourably affected by number of passes. Thus it is of great importance to know how different scanning schemes would affect laser tube bending. Moreover, any scanning scheme which results in greater bending angle would eliminate the need for higher number of passes, making the process faster. However, it is not only the bending angle which is critical, distortions in other planes are also extremely important. Depending on the use of the final product, unwanted distortions may be the final selection criteria. This paper investigates the effect of scanning direction on laser tube bending. Finite-element modelling has been used for the study of the process with some results also validated by experiments.

Finite element simulation of laser tube bending: Effect of scanning schemes on bending angle, distortions and stress distribution

In laser cleaving of brittle materials using controlled fracture technique, thermal stresses are used to induce a crack and the material is separated along the cutting path by extending this crack. In this study, a glass sheet is stressed thermally using a 808–940 nm diode laser radiation. One of the problems in laser cutting of glass with controlled fracture technique is the cut deviation at the leading and the trailing edges of the glass sheet. In order to avoid this damage it is necessary to understand the stress distributions which control crack propagation. A study is conducted here to analyse the cut deviation problem of glass by examining the stress fields during diode laser cutting of soda-lime glass sheets. Optical microscope photographs of the breaking surface are obtained to examine the surface quality and cut path deviation while the latter is explained from the results of the stress fields which are obtained from a finite element simulation.

Effect of thermal stresses on chip-free diode laser cutting of glass

An anisotropic enhanced thermal conductivity approach for modelling laser melt pools for Ni-base super alloys

Laser melting is an important industrial activity encountered in a variety of laser manufacturing processes, e.g. selective laser melting, welding, brazing, soldering, glazing, surface alloying, cladding etc. The majority of these processes are carried out by using either circular or rectangular beams. At present, the melt pool characteristics such as melt pool geometry, thermal gradients and cooling rate are controlled by the variation of laser power, spot size or scanning speed. However, the variations in these parameters are often limited by other processing conditions. Although different laser beam modes and intensity distributions have been studied to improve the process, no other laser beam geometries have been investigated. The effect of laser beam geometry on the laser melting process has received very little attention. This paper presents an investigation of the effects of different beam geometries including circular, rectangular and diamond shapes on laser melting of metallic materials. The finite volume method has been used to simulate the transient effects of a moving beam for laser melting of mild steel (EN-43A) taking into account Marangoni and buoyancy convection. The temperature distribution, melt pool geometry, fluid flow velocities and heating/cooling rates have been calculated. Some of the results have been compared with the experimental data.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/40/2/039/pdf

Numerical analysis of the effects of non-conventional laser beam geometries during laser melting of metallic materials

The effect of transformation hardening depends upon both heating and cooling rates. It is desirable to have a slow heating rate and a rapid cooling rate to achieve full transformation. To date laser transformation hardening has been carried out using circular or rectangular beams which result in rapid heating and cooling. Although the use of different beam intensity distributions within the circular or rectangular laser beams has been studied to improve the process, no other beam geometries have been investigated so far for transformation hardening. This paper presents an investigation into the effects of different laser beam geometries in transformation hardening. Finite element modeling technique has been used to simulate the steady state and transient effects of moving beams in transformation hardening of EN 43A steel. The results are compared with experimental data. The work shows that neither of the two commonly used beams, circular and rectangular, are optimum beam shapes for transformation hardening. The homogenization temperature exceeds the melting point for these beam shapes for the usual laser scanning speeds and power density. Triangular beam geometry has been shown to produce the best thermal history to achieve better transformation and highest hardness due to slower heating without sacrificing the processing rate and hardening depths.

Shakeel Safdar

Papers

Finite element simulation of laser tube bending: Effect of scanning schemes on bending angle, distortions and stress distribution

Effect of thermal stresses on chip-free diode laser cutting of glass

An anisotropic enhanced thermal conductivity approach for modelling laser melt pools for Ni-base super alloys

Numerical analysis of the effects of non-conventional laser beam geometries during laser melting of metallic materials

An analysis of the effect of laser beam geometry on laser transformation hardening