Heat transfer analysis of laser heated surfaces - Conduction limited case

The laser surface heat treatment technique is widely spread in industry for the treatment of the engineering parts. To improve the heat treatment process, study of the heat transfer mechanism appropriate to the laser heating is necessary. The present study develops an analytical solution to the laser heating process using the Fourier heat conduction model. The temperature distribution inside the substance together with its variations in the direction perpendicular to surface are predicted. The validity of the Fourier theory in laser heating is also discussed. To validate the theoretical predictions, the measurement of surface temperature is carried out. The study is extended to include the effect of the laser output pulse lengths.