Laser cutting of rectangular blanks in thick sheet steel: Effect of cutting speed on thermal stresses

Laser cutting of rectangular blank in thick sheet steel is considered and temperature as well as stress fields in the cutting section are predicted using the finite element method. The influence of cutting speed on temperature and stress levels is examined while the XRD technique is introduced to measure the residual stresses after the laser cutting process. The morphological and metallurgical changes in the cutting section are examined using the SEM and XRD. Microhardness across the cut cross section is measured. It is found that the temperature gradient along the y-axis changes, which modifies von Mises stress distribution along the y-axis. The residual stress predicted agrees with the measured data for all the cutting speeds employed in the present study.