Convective heat transfer in laser-irradiated graphite

The gas dynamic and thermal processes developing near the surface of graphite after exposure to a 20-nsec laser pulse with an energy E- 0.1–1 J and a wavelength of 0.6943 m are investigated experimentally and by mathematical modeling. The times required for the shock wave to degenerate into an acoustic wave are also considered. Typical density profiles over the axial section of the inhomogeneity are presented for various moments of time. It is noted that the rate of ascent of the thermal inhomogeneity is much higher than the free convection velocity. The convective heat-transfer processes are studied in detail through numerical solution of the system of two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. The results of the calculations are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 180–182, May–June, 1989.