On the modeling of laser as a moving distributed volumetric heat source for laser cutting simulation

Laser processing of sheet metals (such as cutting or welding) involves heating of the substrate material by laser beam with temperature in the substrate materials reaching the melting temperature. Therefore, such laser processes consist of heating, melting and solidification of the substrate metal. An important topic in laser processing simulation is the modeling of the heat source (distribution of heat input). The interaction of laser beam with a molten metal pool is a complex physical phenomenon that still cannot be modeled rigorously. Laser beam as a heat source causes highly non-linear temperature distribution across the cut or weld and various heat source modeling approaches have been reported in the literature. In general, the distribution of heat input can be classified as superficial and volumetric. In this paper, a moving volumetric heat source model is presented. Using the proposed heat source model, laser cutting process is simulated and residual stresses generated in the cutting region are predicted.