Journal article
Keyhole cutting of carbon fiber reinforced polymer using a long-duration nanosecond pulse laser
Optics and lasers in engineering, Vol.120, pp.101-109
09/2019
DOI: 10.1016/j.optlaseng.2019.03.009
Abstract
•For the first time, a keyhole mode cutting is achieved for CFRP materials using a long-pulse nanosecond laser.•A high-quality machined surface can be produced with a limited heat-affected zone and little fiber pull-out.•Short-duration Q-Switch mode results in ineffective material removal for CFRP.•Effects of laser parameters on cutting surface integrity are determined.
The machining performance of a high-energy nanosecond pulse laser with a near-infrared wavelength is investigated for carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) with two different fiber arrangements. This research work demonstrates for the first time that a keyhole mode cutting can be achieved for CFRP materials using a high-energy nanosecond pulse laser of a Long Pulse mode (120 ns). Specifically, it is shown that the short-duration Q-Switch mode (8 ns) results in ineffective material removal for CFRP, despite much higher peak laser power intensity than the Long Pulse mode. In Long Pulse mode, multi-pass straight line and contour cutting experiments are further performed to investigate the effect of laser processing parameters and resultant machined surface integrity. Plasma absorption effects using both pulse modes are discussed. The results show that a 2.2 mm thick cross-ply CFRP panel can be cut through using as few as 6 laser passes, and a high-quality machined surface can be produced with a limited heat-affected zone and minimal fiber pull-out using Argon assist gas. The successful outcomes from this work provide the key to enable efficient CFRP laser machining using high-energy nanosecond pulse lasers, and offer insight into the unique energy absorption mechanisms for CFRP laser machining.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Keyhole cutting of carbon fiber reinforced polymer using a long-duration nanosecond pulse laser
- Creators
- Timothy Heiderscheit - University of IowaNinggang Shen - University of IowaQinghua Wang - University of IowaAvik Samanta - University of IowaBenxin Wu - Purdue University West LafayetteHongtao Ding - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Optics and lasers in engineering, Vol.120, pp.101-109
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.optlaseng.2019.03.009
- ISSN
- 0143-8166
- eISSN
- 1873-0302
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100000001, name: National Science Foundation
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/2019
- Academic Unit
- Iowa Technology Institute; Mechanical Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984196506302771
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