Mechanism and parametric control of laser-layered paint removal for aircraft skin

Abstract

Experimental and theoretical studies are conducted to clean the top coat and primer on the surface of aircraft skin separately in layers, and the morphological differences and elemental changes before and after paint removal are compared and analysed. By performing thermodynamic simulations, the top coat was removed by the thermal stress effect, and the primer by the combination of ablation and thermal stress effects. Finally, a layered paint-removal model is established and used to select the best laser parameters.