Laser heating of a moving slab: Influence of laser intensity parameter and scanning speed on temperature field and melt size

Laser melting of a moving slab is considered, and the temperature field and the phase-change in the heated region are simulated in-line with experimental conditions. The influence of laser power intensity parameter (β) and laser scanning speed on temperature field and melt depth is examined. An experiment is carried out to compare the melt layer thickness with the predictions. It is found that increase in laser power intensity parameter enhances melt size along the x-axis, despite the fact that peak temperature in the melt-pool reduces. This is more pronounced at a low laser scanning speed (0.05 m/s).