Effects of laser parameters on the width of color change area of poplar wood surface during a single irradiation

Abstract

Due to the high efficiency, flexible moving trajectory and good controllability, laser surface treatment is a modification method used for wood materials, which could be applied to change the wood properties of color, wettability, surface roughness, etc. These surface properties directly affect the wood products coating performance, such as coating adhesion and surface gloss. To reveal the width of the heat-affected zone under laser treatment with different laser parameter combinations, the width of color change area (WCCA) during a single irradiation was measured. The laser power, feed speed and focus plane position were chosen as input parameters. The response surface methodology was selected to arrange the experiments, analyze the influences of laser parameters on WCCA and establish a relationship between laser parameters and WCCA. The results showed that the laser power and focus plane position had significant influences on WCCA. The values of WCCA increased with increased laser power and focus plane position within certain limit. The quadratic model for establishing the relationship between laser parameters and WCCA was significant. The value of correlation coefficient (R2) is very close to 1, which means that the model could give an accurate prediction of WCCA under variable modification parameter combinations.