Modelling of a transient-temperature field in plastics during laser cutting

Abstract

This article deals with the area of non-conventional technologies. It reports, in detail, on a research of a laser beam and its use on different types of polymeric materials. The topic discussed in this article is mainly the thermal transmittance after the transition of the laser beam, cutting the polymeric materials. At a small distance from the cutting edge, various structural and chemical changes can occur due to the heat transfer to the material. An influence zone arises, which can play a significant role affecting the product capabilities. To establish the affected-zone width, models of the transient-temperature field were prepared, representing the distribution of the temperature in the vicinity of the cutting edge. Temperature functions of the material properties were considered with respect to extensive dependencies of the mechanical behaviour of polymers.