Laser surface melting: an analytical approach to calculate heat and mass flows in liquid phase

Summary The paper describes a three-dimensional analytical model to calculate the thermal and velocity fields induced in a melted pool during high-power laser irradiation. The dependence of the thermophysical properties of matter on temperature is accounted for. The thermal field in solid phase is also discussed. The beam power accounting for the melting process is calculated by means of an energy balance involving the total energy in liquid phase plus the energy flowing through the liquid-solid interface.