Theory of Laser Materials Processing

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,theappr...