Journal of Energy and Power Engineering 15 (2021) 177-186

doi: 10.17265/1934-8975/2021.05.003
D DAVID PUBLISHING

Materials Response to High Power Energy Lasers

(A Short Course—Part IV)

Bahman Zohuri1,2,3
1. Ageno School of Business, Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California 94105, USA
2. ECE Department Santa Clara, International Technological University, California 95054, USA
3. Galaxy Advanced Engineering, a Consulting Firm, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87111, USA

Abstract: A complete understanding of laser interaction with materials is still a matter of trials and adjustments. The real physical
processes of laser beam interaction (drilling, cutting, welding, or being used as a directed energy weapon application) with materials
are very complex. Problem of laser interaction with materials presents many difficulties, both from modeling as well as from
experimental sides. One would expect a reasonable description of the main phenomena occurring during laser interaction, but this is
complicated because many of physical processes equally contribute to the development of conservation equations, producing
drawback because of a great complexity of the equations to be solved. In most instances, this leads to formulation of a model
needed to be solved numerically. A lack of pertinent experimental data to compare with, forces one to simplify some equations
and use previous analytical and computational work done in this field. In Part IV here, we cover the absorption coefficient, which can
be derived from the material’s dielectric function and conductivity, determines the absorption of light as a function of depth.
However, the specific mechanisms by which the absorption occurs will depend on the type of material. In general, photons will
couple into the available electronic or vibrational states in the material depending on the photon energy. In insulators and
semiconductors, the absorption of laser light predominantly occurs through resonant excitations such as transitions of valence band
electrons to the conduction band (inter-band transitions) or within bands (inter-sub-band transitions). In this part we cover all
the aspect of the “Mathematical of Laser Absorption in Metals” that fits into this part of our suggesting short courses in different
parts so far.

Key words: Radiation wave, electromagnetic and electrical field, laser and laser radiation, Hugoniot Limit, heat transfer and heat
radiation, laser interaction with matter, phase changes, melt and vaporization, absorption and absorption coefficient of metal.

1. Introduction such as transitions of valence band electrons to the

conduction band (inter-band transitions) or within
The absorption coefficient, which can be derived
bands (i.e., inter-sub-band transitions) [32].
from the material’s dielectric function and
These excited electronic states can then transfer
conductivity, determines the absorption of light as a
energy to lattice phonons. Photons with energy below
function of depth. However, the specific mechanisms
the material’s band gap will not be absorbed (unless
by which the absorption occurs will depend on the
there are other impurity or defect states to couple to or
type of material. In general, photons will couple into
if there is multi-photon absorption). Such energies
the available electronic or vibrational states in the
typically correspond to light frequencies below
material depending on the photon energy. In insulators
vacuum ultraviolet for insulators and below the visible
and semiconductors, the absorption of laser light
to infrared spectrum for semiconductors. However,
predominantly occurs through resonant excitations
resonant coupling to high-frequency optical phonons
Corresponding author: Bahman Zohuri, PhD, adjunct in the near-infrared region is possible in some cases
professor, research fields: artificial intelligence and machine
learning. [33].
178 Materials Response to High Power Energy Lasers (A Short Course—Part IV)

2. Mathematical of Laser Absorption in

Metals
As we discussed in previous parts, light impinging
on a material surface can be reflected, transmitted, or
absorbed. In reality, all three occur to some degree. In
order for laser machining to be practical, the laser
light must be absorbed by the material. To yield an
efficient process, it is necessary to couple as much of
the incident intensity to the work-piece as possible.
Fig. 25 Laser beam impinging on a finite size sample.
This coupling efficiency is described by the sample
absorptivity A (in some parts of the book this is also As part dealing with interaction of high power laser
referred to as absorptance, absorption coefficient or interaction with materials and analysis of thermal
just absorption). The absorptivity is defined as the response that is discussed in Section 3.0, we can
ratio between the absorbed energy and the incident define heat flux qn as the magnitude of the in the
energy. Absorptivity changes during the heating n-direction (with n being x, y, z) one may introduce
process and is a function of the sample’s optical the vector sum, q, of the directional fluxes as:
properties as well as the properties of the q  qxiˆ  q y ˆj  qz kˆ Eq. (122)
electromagnetic wave.
The mathematical model must be derived such that where ( î , ĵ , kˆ ) are the unit vectors along each of
the parameters are easily handled. Once the model is the Cartesian coordinate directions.
verified by experiments, it can simulate the process Having defined a vector representation of the
and provide information such as heat-affected zone, energy transport involved, one may write the
transient temperature distribution, and cooling rates. expression for the net accumulation rate of thermal
Therefore, the model can reduce the experimentation energy per unit volume as:
by determining the effects of particular parameters u
beforehand. q Q  Eq. (123)
t
This section of Part IV presents the formulation of where Q is a volumetric term accounting for the
the general governing equation using the concept of internal generation of heat u . The right hand side of
the divergence of transport intensity as the net Eq. (123) represents the total rate of change of the
accumulation rate of energy per unit volume of the element’s specific internal energy. Thus, Eq. (123) is a
medium under consideration. Prediction of thermal general statement of the first law of thermodynamics.
effects produced by laserbeam scanning the surface of Using thermodynamic arguments, Eq. (123) can be
an absorbing sample requires that three dimensional expended further. If one considers sample under
heat transfer equation be solved subject to finite size consideration to be a homogenous continuum
conditions of a sample. The geometry considered in composition, with more than one phase, then one can
this dissertation is illustrated in Fig. 25, which is finite uniquely determine the state of any property of the
in dimensions slab irradiated by a laserbeam continuum using two independent properties, specific
impinging on its surface subject to convective and energy, and specific enthalpy, one can write (Nowak,
radiative losses. 1990) [34]:
 Materials Response to High Power Energy Lasers (A Short Course—Part IV) 179

multiplying by the density of the medium results in

 u 
dum   m  d  c dT Eq. (124) expressions in terms relative to the unit volume as
  T opposed to the unit mass. Using Eq. (130), these new
volumetric terms can be expressed as:
 h 
dhm   m  dp  c p dT Eq. (125)
 p T du    c(T )dT Eq. (132)

where
um dh    c(T )dT Eq. (133)
= Specific internal energy
and
hm = Specific enthalpy
h  u   dT Eq. (134)
 = Volume Integrating both sides of Eq. (132) over proper
p = Pressure variables and differentiating with respect to time
c = Specific heat at constant volume yields:
c p = Specific heat at constant pressure u  T
    c(T )dT Eq. (135)
T = Temperature distribution t t T0
Both the specific heats at constant pressure and
Where T0 T0 is the temperature at the beginning and
volume are defined as below respectively:
T is the temperature at the end of the infinitesimal
 u 
cp    Eq. (126) time step, dt. For the particular very infinitesimal time
 T  p interval dt one can assume a constant specific heat,
then Eq. (135) simplifies to:
 u 
c    Eq. (127) u T
 T    c Eq. (136)
t t
For solids and incompressible fluids, the specific since the initial temperature is constant with respect to
volume is assumed constant. If one also neglects time. Substituting Eq. (136) into Eq. (123) yields the
pressure changes in the given process, Eqs. (126) and heat diffusion equation as:
(127) can be simplified to yield: T
q  Q    c Eq. (137)
t
dum  c dT Eq. (128)
Solution of Eq. (137) for the time-dependent field,

dhm  c p dT Eq. (129)

T (x, y, z,t) , requires the use of a constitutive
equation relating the temperature to heat flow. For
Recalling the definition of specific enthalpy from conductive heart transfer equation this relation is
classical thermodynamics as: Fourier’s law of conduction. It states that the heat flux
in a direction n is proportional to the temperature
hm  um  p Eq. (130)
gradient in that direction. Mathematically this is
One can combine Eqs. (126) and (124) to find that: expressed as:
T
cp  c  c for d  dp  0 Eq. (131) qn nˆ   k  nˆ Eq. (138)
n
If pressure is allowed to vary, Eq. (129) still holds where k is thermal conductivity and qn is the heat flux
approximately for solids and incompressible fluids. in the n-direction. Negative sign is necessary to satisfy
Taking the relations in Eqs. (128) and (130) and the second law of thermodynamics.
180 Materials Response to High Power Energy Lasers (A Short Course—Part IV)

In the analysis of the Fourier heat conduction model, (138) with respect to the direction of propagation of
the heat flux through a given plane is considered as the laser beam yields the volumetric extraction rate of
being a function of the spatial temperature gradient at energy absorbed by the differential element. Since the
that plane. accumulation rate is negative of the extraction rate for
This depends upon the assumption that the a given volume, the necessary volumetric term for use
temperature gradient remains almost constant between in Eq. (140), is given by:
two successive and closely spaced planes. However, I ( z )
the distance between these planes is finite, therefore, Q  ( ) I 0 (0) z 0
z material surface Eq. (141)
error occurs when high-order terms, which are
  exp(    z ) 
neglected, become important at high power laser
intensities. The heat flux through a given plane or for simplicity we write Eq. (132) as:
depends on the electron energy distribution through I ( z )
Q  ( ) I 0 (0) exp(   z ) Eq. (142)
the material, therefore, the material cannot be z
considered as a homogeneous continuum when one is Using the Drude-Zener theory (Yilbas, 1997) [35],
analyzing very short pulses (shorter than a picosecond) Eq. (7-130) leads to the following expression for
at intermolecular level (distances less than 0.1 µm). Q(x, y, z, t) :
Substituting Eq. (138) into Eq. (137) yields: Q( x, y, z, t )  A exp( t )
T Eq. (143)
  (k T )  Q    c Eq. (139)    I 0 ( x, y, z, t )exp( z)
t
which is the general form of the governing differential where, A is the surface absorptivity, β is the pulse
equation for isobaric thermal conduction in a parameter, and I 0 ( x, y, z, t ) z 0 is laser radiation
homogenous solid or incompressible fluid. intensity at the material surface (z = 0).
In laser micromachining or its interaction with In Eq. (143), absorption coefficient of the material I
materials surface, the internal energy generation, Q, is measuring the absorption of radiation propagating
commonly thought of as the rate of laser energy through the medium is considered constant at this time
absorbed per unit volume in the irradiated medium. In but based on a number of publications I should be a
case of metals, this absorption occurs at beginning in a function of temperature and axial position of the
very thin layer at the surface of the workpiece or irradiated laser beam in respect to the material under
target of interest and, for many practical cases can be consideration. At this time let us modify Eq. (143) to
considered as a boundary condition to Eq. (139). This be:
absorption process is calculated by Beer-Lambert’s Q( x, y, z, t )  A exp( t )
law, via the following relation as:
   (T , z) I 0 ( x, y,0, t )exp{ (T , z)  z}
I ( z )    I 0 (0) z 0 exp(  z ) Eq. (140)
material surface Eq. (144)
where I(z) is the intensity of the incident radiation at a and function μ (T,z) will be defined as bulk
given distance, z, into the absorbing medium from the absorption coefficient at distance z from metal surface.
irradiated surface, ε is the surface emissivity of the Here for purpose of our analysis and discussion we
medium and μ is the absorption coefficient of the keep μ constant, but based on a number of
material, measure of the absorption of radiation publications μ should be a function of temperature and
propagating through the medium. Using the axial position of the irradiated laser beam in respect to
terminology used in Eq. (123), differentiating Eq. the material under consideration.
 Materials Response to High Power Energy Lasers (A Short Course—Part IV) 181

Incorporation Eq. (143) into Eq. (137), for laser et al., 1995) [36], the interface moves into depth of the
pulse with a position-dependent intensity, for this material at the speed defined as:
form of pulse input, the Fourier differential Eq. (137)
1 c M
can be rewritten in very general form as: V (Ts )  psat (Ts ) Eq. (147)
 2 kBTs
T
 c(T )    k (T )T ( x, y, z , t  where c is condensation factor which is usually taken
t Eq. (145)
as 0.18 and psat (Ts ) is saturated vapor pressure
 Q ( x, y , z , t )
defined from Clapeyron-Clausius Equation as:
where c(T) is the density of the material of the
 E 
workpiece, is the temperature dependent specific heat psat (Ts )  0 exp   a  Eq. (148)
of the material, k(T) is the temperature dependent  k BTs 
thermal conductivity, T(x, y, z, T) is the resulting And kB is Boltzmann’s constant, φ0 is pre-exponential
three-dimensional time dependent temperature factor, and Ea is an activation evaporation per atom.
distribution in the material, t is time and we can Note that Eq. (147) is a pressure dependent function,
assume for the purpose of any boundary condition that which has to be calculated simultaneously with
T0 is the initial temperature, and x, y, z are the spatial temperature dependent velocity. Thus, let us derive a
Cartesian coordinates, while Q(x, y, z, T) is the rate at velocity as a function of temperature and the latent
which heat is supplied to the solid per unit time per heat of phase transition, which is also temperature
unit volume, depends on the laser pulse parameter and dependent.
physical and optical properties of materials irradiated. The rate of change of latent heat with temperature
Note that both A and μ are functions of temperature can be expressed as (Yilbas et al., 1996) [37]:
and wavelength of the incident radiation as will be H H
  (cpv  cpl )
shown in later sections of this chapter. T T
Solid or liquid evaporates at any temperature Eq. (149)
H  v   l  
greater than 0 K. The evaporation rates strongly    
depend on the surface temperature Ts. Eq. (145) v l  T  p  T  p 
considers heat diffusion into material only through where cpV and cpl are specific heats at constant
conduction. Based on experimental and theoretical pressure for vapor and liquid states, respectively, and
evidence, evaporation takes place, so one has to νV and νl are specific volumes for vapor and liquid
consider moving elements of vapor and liquid inside states.
the material during laser beam interaction. One has to realize that integration of the latent heat
Considering this fact, the general governing over the temperature ranging from 0 to critical
differential equation allowing a phase change process temperature Tc is difficult, because we do not have
can be written as: enough information about values for the latent heat
T especially at extreme value of the range under
 (T )c(T )   ( k T )
t consideration. It is safe to assume (Yilbas, 1996) [38],
  (T )c(T )Vn (T )(T )  Q that little inaccuracy is involved in taking the room
Eq. (146) temperature latent heat as the latent heat at absolute
where Vn is the normal component of the evaporation zero, because, by knowing that v  l and
front or melt front velocity (recession velocity).  v   l  , i.e., the specific volume of gas,
Let us define velocity, Vn. From literature (Tokarev,     
 T  p  T  p
182 Materials Response to High Power Energy Lasers (A Short Course—Part IV)

νV is much greater than the condensed liquid, νl and its After integration and substitution of Eq. (151) into
rate of change with temperature at constant pressure is Eq.n (152), we obtain:
corresponding greater. Thus, cp is extremely small
M  H (T ) 
for temperature up to room temperature Ta. NG  n exp   Vn Eq. (153)
2 k BTs  k BTs 
According to Maxwell’s law the function of
velocity distribution of molecules can be defined as If atoms are equally spaced within the lattice a
(Tabor, 1991) [39]: surface layer would consist of n2/3 with an
evaporation time n2/3 NG . The average velocity of the
M  MVn2 
f (Vn )dVn  exp   dVn surface, Vn would be:
2 k BTs  2 k BTs  1 NG
Vn  Eq. (7-142)
Eq. (150) n1/3 n 2/3
where Vn is the velocity in the direction normal to the
k BT  H (T ) 
surface, and the other parameters were defined earlier. Vn  exp    Eq. (154)
Using vernacular terms, function f (Vn )dVn is ratio of
2 M  k BT 
number of atoms with velocity Vn to Vn  dVn per
where H(T) is the Latent Heat.
unit volume, to the total number of atoms per unit
volume. Only those molecules whose velocity is Considering Eq. (154), the general governing
greater than Vmin obtained from Equation given by differential equation defined in Eq. (155) below, with
Tabor [39] as: phase change processes at the surface of material
1 interaction with high power laser irradiation could be
2
MVmin  H (T ) Eq. (151)
2 written as:
will escape from the retaining potential, where T
Vmin lies in the z direction. If n is the number of  (T )c(T )   ( k T )
t
atoms per unit volume then the number of atoms with k BT  H (T ) 
  (T )c(T ) exp    T Eq. (155)
velocities Vn Vn to Vn  dVn per unit volume is 2 M  k B T 
nf (Vn ) dVn and the number of atoms with these Q
velocities passing a unit area per unit time is
Note, that latent heat H(T) , in Eq. (154) and Eq.
nf (Vn )Vn dVn .
(155), is based on some theoretical and experimental
Assuming that all the atoms for which, they do not evidence is temperature dependent and the final form
return to their equilibrium position under evaporation of it is going to be described in later section.
circumstances and if Vn  Vmin and if we define NG as In order to solve Eq. (154), appropriate boundary
the number of atoms evaporated per unit time per unit conditions should be applied. Section 4.0 is discussing
area, then we can write: formulation of the appropriate boundary conditions.

NG  
Vmin
 nf (Vn )Vn  dVn 3. Materials and Thermal Response
M Metal processing with lasers has reached a high
n Eq. (152)
2 k BTs level of maturity and acceptance in industry. It is used
 for cutting, drilling, welding, forming, engraving,
   MVn2  
  exp   Vn dVn marking, hardening and various forms of surface
Vmin   2 k BTs   treatment of metals in a broad spectrum of modern
 Materials Response to High Power Energy Lasers (A Short Course—Part IV) 183

industries, including the automotive and aerospace per unit of time. In Eq. (156), ρ, c, and K are
industries, the shipbuilding industry, the considered functions of both position and temperature,
microelectronics industry, and the medical instrument and A is a function of both position and time. In effect,
industry to name a few and now its application as a the equation is a simple statement that the rate at
directed energy weapon both based on ground and which heat accumulates in an elemental volume
space usages. dxdydz is equal to the net flow of heat across the
The details of the material response will depend on faces of that volume plus the rate at which heat is
the particular material system and the laser processing produced within the volume.
conditions. As was mentioned earlier, if laser induced Thus, thermal response studies consist essentially of
excitation rates are slow compared to the two parts. First, one needs to know the rate and source
thermalization time, then the process is denoted as of production of heat by the laser, which yields A.
photothermal, and one can consider the absorbed laser Then one solves Eq. (156) subject to the boundary
energy as being directly transformed into heat. In this conditions of the situation of interest. This can be a
case, the material response will be a function of the very elaborate task and frequently can be done only
local material heating and cooling rates, maximum with the aid of a computer.
temperatures reached, and temperature gradients, all There is a great deal of effort among workers in the
of which can be determined from the solution to the field of laser effects to develop an all-inclusive
heat equation for the given irradiation conditions. computer program to solve Eq. (156) for every
Because material heating rates can be so extreme, possible situation. However, the solution to Eq. (156)
reaching as high as 109 K/s for nanosecond (ns) can be no better than the knowledge of A, and, as we
pulses and even higher for femtosecond lasers, shall see in later sections, it is often very difficult to
significant changes to the material can occur. establish A with any precision in a laser material
One of the most important effects of intense laser interaction situation.
irradiation is the conversion of the optical energy in
4. Boundary Conditions
the beam into thermal energy in the material. This is
the basis of many applications of lasers, such as Boundary conditions are important part of a model.
welding and cutting. We shall summarize here this They influence the programming and calculation
thermal response. It is basically a classical problem, results greatly. Specifying the suitable boundary
namely heat flow. In the usual manner, we shall seek conditions is the basis for successful computation.
solutions to the equation which governs the flow of Three kinds of boundary conditions are typically
heat, namely encountered in heat conduction analysis. These are:
T   T  (1) given the boundary temperature, T,
c  K 
t x  x  (2) given the boundary heat flux, q, and
(3) a boundary heat flux balance relation.
  T 
 K  Eq. (156) If the boundary temperature is given, there is no
y  y 
particular difficulty in modeling, one needs only to
  T  specify the value of the boundary grids to the
 K  A
z  z  specified temperature.
We use here ρ for the density, c for the specific heat, The magnitude of heat flux due to convection to the
T for temperature, I for time, and K for thermal ambient from the sample surface is expressed using
conductivity. A is the heat produced per unit volume Newtonian law of cooling.
184 Materials Response to High Power Energy Lasers (A Short Course—Part IV)

linear function of temperature, whereas radiation is a

qconv  hc (Ts  Tamb ) Eq. (157)
nonlinear, due to its dependence on the difference of
where hc is convection heat transfer coefficient, Ts the fourth powers of the surface and ambient
is the surface temperature, and Tamb is the temperature.
temperature of ambient or surrounding. The magnitude of convection and conduction in the
In order to determine hc , the characteristic length overall transport of heat can be evaluated from the
L of the workpiece should be: value of the Peclet number, Pe, which is defined by

Area uc p Lr
L Eq. (158) Pe  Eq. (163)
Ob k
where, Area, is the area of the surface, and Ob is the where, μ is velocity, Lr is the characteristic length,
perimeter of the workpiece. Then, the Nusselt number take as the pool radius at the top surface of the weld
for the horizontal plate is (Bejan, 1993) [40]: pool and the other parameters were defined earlier.
Heat transported by a combination of convection
N u  0.27  R a 
0.25
Eq. (159)
and conduction mechanism is observed in the weld
pool in laser micro-welding applications. When Peclet
where the Rayleigh number Ra is:
number is less than 1, the heat transport within the
weld pool occurs primary by conduction. When Peclet
g
Ra  L3 (T  Tamb ) Eq. (160) number is much higher than 1, then the convective
 heat transport is the main mechanism of heat transfer
In Eq. (160), g is the gravitational acceleration, β in the material.
is the coefficient of the volumetric thermal expansion, If one is using shielding gas in laser
κ is the thermal diffusivity, γ is the kinematic micromachining then heat transfer coefficient hc
viscosity, and other parameters are as defined for Eq. required in Eq. (161), is calculated from Mazumder
(157). The convective heat transfer coefficient hc can and Steen (1980) [42] and Gordon and Cobonpue
be calculated as: (1961) [43] for case of a vertically impinging jet:

kair 1
hc  Nu Eq. (161) hc  13Re0.3 Pr 0.35 k g Eq. (164)
L B
where kair is the thermal conductivity of the air where B is the jet plate distance, Re is the Reynolds
surrounding the workpiece. Note that in case of high number at jet exit, Pt is the Prandtl number for gas,
power laser as directed energy weapon and its and kg is thermal conductivity of the gas.
application as GBL (Ground Based Laser) [41] or Performing an energy balance on a boundary where
ABL (Air Born Laser) [41], we need to consider the both convection and radiation losses occur, one can
above discussion. Radiation to the ambient is relate the flux conducted to the interface to the
expressed using the relation: convection and radiation losses by the expression.

qrad   (Ts4  Tamb

4
) Eq. (162) qn  qconv  qrad Eq. (165)

where qrad is the magnitude of radiation flux, ε is the Substituting for qn from Eq. (138), for qconv
emissivity of the material, and σ is the from Eq. (157) and finally for qrad from Eq. (162),
Stefan-Boltzmann constant. Note that convection is a into Eq. (165), we get:
 Materials Response to High Power Energy Lasers (A Short Course—Part IV) 185

 T   U 
k    hc (Ts  T )   (Ts4  T4 ) dv  V0 exp   Eq. 7-157
 n s  Ts 
Eq. (166) where V0 is a coefficient of the order of magnitude of
where the term on the left-hand side of the Eq. (7-155) the sound velocity, Ts is the surface temperature, and
represents the magnitude of the heat conducted normal U is the energy of evaporation per atom defined as:
to the boundary surface. Eq. (166) should be applied
MH v
to all exposed boundary of the finite sample under U  Eq. (168)
N akB
consideration. Setting the right-hand side of Eq. (166)
to zero accommodates insulated boundaries. where Hv is the latent heat of vaporization (per unit
In laser micro-drilling or interaction with materials, mass), kB is Boltzmann’s constant, M is the atomic
Eq. (166) should be applied in the region of the newly mass, and Na is Avogadro’s number. Velocity Vn,
vaporized material (hole area) and an appropriate heat defined in Eq. (7-147), is equal to νdv.
transfer coefficient should be used. Since the question The classic Stefan boundary condition is applied to
of modeling of the micro-drilling phenomena is the solid-liquid boundary (melting front z = zm) as:
associated with creating the hole formation has not yet
Ts Tl
been solved, then to choose an appropriate heat  H f v m  ks  kl Eq. (169)
z z  zm z z  zm
transfer coefficient is an educated guess and open to
debate. where Hf is the latent heat of fusion, Vm is the melting
For the case when phase change transition takes front velocity, and subscripts “S” and “l” represent
place, the boundary condition at the liquid-vapor “solid” and “liquid”, respectively. The Stephan
interface is: boundary condition assumes an instant transition from
solid to liquid at the melting temperature Tm and does
T
k  dv H v  (1  R) I 0 Eq. (167) not allow superheating at the melting front. The
z z approximation is adequate for the slow velocities of
where k is thermal conductivity of the solid or liquid melt front propagation typical of laser welding and
drilling, where the melting kinetics can be
T
phase, is the temperature gradient at the disregarded.
z z To understand how the boundary conditions were
surface along the normal (z-axis), ρ is the density of defined, let us first comprehend material removal
the solid or liquid phase, νdv is the component of process together with energy transport in multiple
boundary velocity due to evaporation, R is the phase transitions, which is going to be discussed later
reflectivity for the laser wavelength, and I0 is the on. To establish effects of convective heat transfer
intensity of the laser beam at the surface. For surface coefficient due to evaporation recoil generated melt
temperatures less than approximately half of the flow Semak et al. (1999) [45] performed two
critical temperature, the energy of evaporation per simulations. In the first one recoil pressure and related
atom U can be assumed to be constant. Then the melt flow were disregarded and in the second case
component of the boundary velocity due to recoil pressure and melt flow were accounted for.
evaporation νdv was defined by Eq。 (154), and also Those observations they supported by calculating the
defined in similar fashion by Niedrig and Bostonjglo melt surface temperatures at the axis of the laser beam
(1996) [44]. for different values of absorbed intensity I0 presented
186 Materials Response to High Power Energy Lasers (A Short Course—Part IV)

in Fig. 7-26. When recoil pressure and melt flow were means of boundary condition by means of exact and
included, the steady-state values of temperature were numerical methods.
reached faster, and the maximum temperature was
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