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Ablation of polymers and composites when exposed to CO2 laser radiation (review)

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Mechanics of Composite Materials Aims and scope

Conclusions

As can be seen from the data presented in this review, ablation of polymers has been studied extensively and is being used commercially as manufacturing operation. The convenience of laser technology, and in some cases its irreplacability, are not doubted in the slightest by specialists in this area. The use of CO2 lasers for dimensional working of composites based on phenyl-formaldehyde resin and various fillers is a matter of extreme interest at the present time [75]. The search for new types of polymeric binders and their application in industry make it necessary for research workers to investigate features of their behavior in a laser beam.

If we consider specific manufacturing operations in which it is particularly convenient to use lasers, we may note the cutting of sheet materials [4, 69, 76], scribing, piercing holes with fine or ultrafine diameter, processing fibers, etc. [4, 76, 77], By using lasers, it is possible to avoid such undesirable effects as cracking and scaling of particularly brittle thermosetting polymers [69].

In predicting the behavior of new types of polymers in a laser beam, it is first necessary to establish their classification group (A, B, or C), their flammability, their tendency to form secondary polymeric structures, etc. The mechanism of ablation of various groups has certain features that need detailed study and refinement. At present, description of the ablation process in polymers is largely borrowed from the theory of vaporization of metals when exposed to laser radiation. The development of a specific theory of ablation of polymeric materials is a matter for the immediate future.

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  1. A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Heteroorganic Compounds, Moscow

    É. E. Said-Galiev & L. N. Nikitin

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Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 2, pp. 152–171, March–April, 1992.

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Said-Galiev, É.E., Nikitin, L.N. Ablation of polymers and composites when exposed to CO2 laser radiation (review). Mech Compos Mater 28, 97–114 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00613315

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