Analytical solution for time unsteady laser pulse heating of semi-infinite solid

In the application of pulsed laser heating, such a laser hardening of metallic surfaces, conduction limited process is the dominant mechanism during the laser-workpiece interaction. Consequently, time unsteady analysis of this problem becomes necessary. The present study examines the time unsteady analysis of the conduction limited process for a time dependent laser pulse power intensity. It is shown that the conditions for thermal integration to occur requires a minimum pulse rate of 100 kHz and in the limit the solution obtained in the present case reduces to that obtained for a step input. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.