NONLINEAR 3-DIMENSIONAL TEMPERATURE PROFILES IN PULSED-LASER HEATED SOLIDS

We have developed a numerical procedure to study the transient behaviour of the temperature distribution in a solid heated by short powerful laser pulses. It is based on a three-dimensional model of the laser heating problem in which the temperature-dependent coupling between the laser pulse and the sample, and the temperature-dependent thermal characteristics of the sample, are fully accounted for. Our model calculations of temperature distributions, or any derived thermal profiles, in any space or time variables, resorted to a formulation that we developed in the form of an interactive program, based on the finite differences method, under an approach that explored the successive over-relaxation iteration procedure. Specific results are presented and discussed from the point of view of an application of the model to metals heated with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser.