7 - Underwater pulsed laser beam cutting with a case study

Abstract

This chapter gives an overview of a nanosecond pulsed neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser beam cutting at submerged condition. A brief illustration of basic nanosecond pulsed laser beam workpiece material interaction is given here; the illustration considers generation of photon and interaction with electron to generate heat, absorption of heat, phase transformation, plasma generation, ablation and removal mechanism of cut material from the irradiate region, both at dry and submerged conditions. The reason to use a water environment during laser beam cutting is discussed in this chapter. Developments of laser beam cutting at various submerged environments, i.e., either in static or in dynamic conditions, are exemplified in this chapter. An experimental study of Inconel 625 superalloy at static submerged condition is presented as a case study at the end of this chapter. During this experimental study, the effect of different heights of water columns on machining responses along with other process parameters is also discussed in detail.