Laser evaporative heating: Exact solution or temperature rise due to step input pulse

An exact solution for the temperature distribution during evaporative heating of a solid following a laser input pulse has been formulated. The heat transfer equation was made non-dimensional and the closed form solution obtained using the Laplace transformation method. The speed of the receding surface was expressed after assuming an energy balance in the surface region. A numerical solution of the heat transfer equation was necessary so that the temperature predictions obtained from the closed-form solution can be compared. It is found that the temperature rises rapidly in the early heating period because of the energy gain by the substrate material from the irradiated area and only a little energy diffuses from the surface region to the solid bulk during the heating pulse. The numerical predictions of temperature and closed formed solutions are found to be in good agreement.