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Numerical analysis of plasma in CO2 laser and arc hybrid welding

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Abstract

Lasers and electric arcs are well known heat sources for the welding of a metal. For the sake of a synergic effect, the two sources can be combined and used at the same time. When the two sources are used simultaneously for material processing, complex phenomena are observed, such as the absorption of the laser in arc plasma and a concentration of plasma caused by the metal vapor generated by laser irradiation. In this paper, temperature distributions of plasma for a CO2 laser and arc hybrid welding are calculated and investigated by use of a numerical analysis. Two types of shielding gases are considered. For argon plasma, the CO2 laser is dramatically absorbed; however, for helium gas, there is little absorption of the laser light in the plasma. Therefore, improper welding results can be expected in the case of a CO2 laser and an argon arc. From the analysis, it was shown that the maximum temperature for a CO2 laser and argon arc hybrid plasma is about 30,000 K. It was also noticed that hybrid plasma was concentrated on the position of laser irradiation for helium-shielding gas.

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Abbreviations

A:

degree of ionization

A1 :

degree of 1st ionization

A2 :

degree of 2nd ionization

Bθ :

self-induced azimuthal magnetic field

c:

specific heat

d:

workpiece thickness

e:

electronic charge

F0 :

partition function for an atom

F1 :

partition function for an ion

\(\bar g\) :

Gaunt factor

h:

enthalpy

h1 :

convection coefficient on the top surface

h2 :

convection coefficient on the bottom surface

hp :

Plank number

jr :

radial current density

jz :

axial current density

Jv :

vaporization flux of metal vapor

k:

thermal conductivity

kB :

Boltzmann constant

me :

electron mass

M:

molecular weight of metal vapor

ne :

electron density

ni :

ion density

Nc :

charge density

P:

pressure

Pv :

vaporization pressure

Q:

laser power

rL :

effective radius of the laser

r-z:

cylindrical coordinate system

SR :

radiation heat loss per unit volume

t:

time

T:

temperature

T0 :

initial temperature

Te :

electron temperature

Tv :

vaporization temperature

u:

velocity in r-direction

ui :

ith ionization energy

w:

velocity in z-direction

x-y-z:

moving Cartesian coordinate system

X-Y-Z:

absolute Cartesian coordinate system

α:

thermal diffusivity

β:

absorption coefficient

ε0 :

permittivity

εabs :

absorption of the laser energy per unit volume

εN :

net emission coefficient

η:

heat efficiency

λ:

compensation coefficient for the condensation in the liquidvapor-interface

μ:

dynamic viscosity

μ0 :

magnetic permeability

ξ:

eigenvalue in Eq. (1)

ρ:

density

σ:

electrical conductivity electric potential

ω:

angular frequency of laser beam

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Changwon National University, 20, Changwondaehak-ro, Uichang-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, 790-784, South Korea

    Young Tae Cho

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-701, South Korea

    Suck Joo Na

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Cho, Y.T., Na, S.J. Numerical analysis of plasma in CO2 laser and arc hybrid welding. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 16, 787–795 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-015-0104-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-015-0104-3

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