Laser heating of moving solid: Influence of workpiece speed on melt size

Laser heating of a moving solid is considered and phase change in the irradiated region is modeled. Three-dimensional heating situation is considered in the analysis and phase change is modeled using the enthalpy-porosity technique. Temperature field and melt zone are predicted for different workpiece velocities. The predictions are compared with the experimental results. It is found that the maximum temperature in the irradiated region and the size of heat affected zone increase significantly at low workpiece speeds. The prediction of melt depth agrees well with the experimental results.