J Mater Sci Technol ›› 2010, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (4): 362-366.

• Regular Papers • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Thermal Characteristics in the Cutting of Inconel 718 Superalloy Using CW Nd:YAG Laser

D.G. Ahn, K.W. Byun, M.C. Kang   

  1. 1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chosun University, 375 Seosuk-dong, Dong-gu, Gwang-ju, 501-759, Korea
    2) Hybrid Materials Solution National Core Research (NCRC), Pusan National University, San 30 Changjeon-dong, Keumjeong-gu, Busan, 609-735, Korea
  • Received:2008-03-27 Revised:2010-04-28 Online:2010-04-30 Published:2010-04-28
  • Supported by:

    the National Core Research Center Program from MOST and KOSEF (No. R15-2006-022-01001-0)

Abstract:

The objective of the this study is to investigate the effects of cutting parameters on thermal characteristics, including practical cutting regions, the formation of the kerfwidth and the heat transfer phenomenon, in the cutting of Inconel 718 super-alloy sheets using a CW Nd:YAG laser. From the results of the experiments, the influence of process parameters on both the practical cutting region and the kerfwidth has been examined. In addition, it has been shown that the kerfwidth of the specimen lies in the range of 0.53-0.61 mm. In order to examine characteristics of the heat transfer during the laser cutting process, a three-dimensional quasi-steady heat transfer analysis has been performed using the commercial code SYSWELD V9.0. From the results of the analysis, the in°uence of cutting parameters on the temperature distribution in the vicinity of the cut section
has been quantitatively evaluated. Based on these results, optimal cutting conditions have been estimated.

Key words: CW Nd:YAG laser, Inconel 718, Kerfwidth, Quasi-steady heat transfer analysis