2016 Old City Publishing, Inc.

Published by license under the OCP Science imprint,

a member of the Old City Publishing Group

Lasers in Eng., Vol. 0, pp. 123

Reprints available directly from the publisher
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Numerical Methods for the Selection of Process

Parameters for Laser Processing of Materials
P. Kalvettukaran1, S. Das2, S. Marimuthu3 and D. Misra1,*
1

School of Laser Science and Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata-700032, India

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata-700032, India
3
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing, Loughborough University, Loughborough,
Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK

This paper presents a multipurpose numerical model that can be used to

identify limiting values of the input process parameters for various laser
material processing applications. The simulations layout is designed
based on a central composite design (CCD) with four factors and five
levels. Laser power, scanning speed, spot diameter and plate thickness
are considered as input variables; while maximum temperature of the
plate is considered as output variable of the model. Based on the simulation output a regression equation is developed to estimate the maximum
temperature as a function of the laser process parameters (power, scanning speed, spot diameter) and the sheet thickness. The results obtained
from the developed mathematical model and numerical simulation shows
good agreement, which gives an assurance to use the developed model for
laser processing of Ti with satisfactory precision.
Keywords: Laser material processing, parameters, numerical simulation, finite
element method (FEM), central composite design (CCD), regression equation,
response surface methodology (RSM), temperature

1INTRODUCTION
Laser processing of metals and alloys are widely used in industry, due to its
distinct advantages of high productivity, non-contact, reduced processing
cost, improved quality, greater material utilization and minimum heat affected
zone (HAZ). Macro laser material processing can be generally divided into
two major categories, those requiring phase change such as cutting, drilling,
*Corresponding author: Tel: +91 3324146372; E-mail: dipten@gmail.com

P. Kalvettukaran et al.

welding and those operating at temperatures below the melting temperature

of the material, such as forming, heat treatment, laser peening.
The most important parameters in any laser material processing application include, the dimension of the working substance, thermo-physical properties (density, specific heat and thermal conductivity) and laser process
parameters (laser power, scanning speed, pulse/continuous wave and laser
beam diameter). Also, most laser processing applications are highly nonliner involving transient temperature field, produced by the scanning laser
beam, in the material under process. Numerical simulations had proved to be
an efficient and cost effective tool for analysis of the transient temperature
field [1, 2] under various situations.
A large number of numerical studies are performed in the past, to simulate the effects of process parameters on temperature distribution. Shen and
Vollertsen [3] reported some developments in modelling of laser forming,
involving analytical models, numerical simulations and empirical models. Ji
and Wu [4] performed finite element method (FEM) for simulation of the
three-dimensional (3-D) transient temperature field during laser forming.
Venkadeshwaran et al [5] studied the temperature distribution on circular
plate by circle line heating method. Jamil et al [6] developed FEM simulation to study the effects of five different beam geometries viz., rectangular,
square, triangular etc., on laser bending of sheet metal, dominated by the
temperature gradient mechanism (TGM). Li et al [7] performed FEM
simulations on pure aluminium plate with different thicknesses to simulate
transient temperature field and thermal stress for laser forming process.
Shukla and Lawrence [8] investigated the thermal effects of fibre laser surface treatment with Si3N4 engineering ceramic. Scintilla and Tricarico [9]
studied the disk laser cutting for plates with CO2 laser source Acherjee et al
[10] simulated the laser transmission welding process for joining dissimilar
materials (polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) to Ti) to predict the transient
temperature field as well as the weld dimensions. In their following work,
Acherjee et al [11] developed a 3-D FEM model, for laser transmission
welding of polycarbonate with a moving laser beam to simulate the transient
temperature field.
A number of attempts had been made to study laser material processing
using numerical and experimental methods in combination with statistical
techniques. Zahrani and Marasi [12] carried out experimental investigation
on laser bending to study the effects of process parameters, viz., including
beam diameter, laser power, scan speed, number of passes, scan path position
apart from sheet thickness. Gollo et al [13] presented numerical and experimental studies with the design of experiments (DOE) technique to identify
the response related to deformation and characterize the effects of process
parameters. They have found that bending angle is most strongly affected by
beam diameter, followed by pulse duration, scan velocity and laser power. In
their following work, Gollo et al [14] investigated statistical analysis of

 Numerical Methods for the Selection of Process Parameters for Laser

parameter effects such as material, laser power, beam diameter, scan velocity,
plate thickness, pass number and pulse duration on bending angle by numerical simulation and experimental investigations with Taguchi experimental
design method. Venkadeshwaran et al [15] used FEM simulation and response
surface methodology (RSM) to predict bending angle and optimize the process parameters for laser bending of stainless steel. They have identified the
optimum values of parameters that would increase the productivity and
reduce the total operating cost and the HAZ. Acherjee et al [16] presented
experimental investigation with DOE technique on laser transmission welding of dissimilar thermoplastics between PMMA and ABS. They implemented graphical optimization technique which allows identifying optimal
region in a graphical window. Olabi et al [17] developed mathematical models to determine the relationship between laser welding parameters and
the magnitude of the residual stress at different locations by using response
surface methodology. Reisgen et al [18] presented statistical analysis of the
CO2 laser beam welding of dual phase steel sheets using RSM. Their results
indicate that the proposed models predict the responses adequately within the
limits of welding parameters being used and the welding speed is the most
significant parameter during the welding process. Caydas and Hascalik [19]
presented optimization of laser cutting process of St-37 steel with multiple
performance characteristics such as workpiece surface roughness, top kerf
width and the HAZ based on the grey relational analysis. They have observed
that laser power has stronger influence on responses rather than cutting speed.
Yang et al. [20] performed experimental investigation and numerical simulation to predict depth and width of the HAZ during laser assisted machining of
Ti6Al4V alloy. They have found that the depth and width of the HAZ are
strongly dependent on laser parameters (laser power, scan speed, angle of
incidence and the beam diameter) and material properties (thermal conductivity, specific heat and density). Their parametric studies showed that the
depth and width of HAZ increased with laser power and decreased with an
increase of the laser spot size and the laser scan speed.
As noted from the literature, selection of appropriate process parameters
is important for laser processing techniques. This manuscript aims to develop
a mathematical model that can be used to predict the material temperature
for given values of process parameters. It further develops regression models
to predict the required process parameters, when the targeted maximum
temperature is known. In the present work a 3-D FEM model is developed
to simulate laser processing of commercially pure Ti metal sheet with a moving laser beam. Statistical techniques are used to construct the design layout
and to develop regression models based on results of numerical simulation.
The developed model would be of significant assistance to any laser material
processing application that involves phase change, such as, cutting, drilling,
welding, etc., as well as no phase change, such as laser bending and straightening, surface hardening, semiconductor annealing, laser shock peening, etc.

P. Kalvettukaran et al.

2 FINITE ELEMENT METHOD (FEM) SIMULATION

2.1Background
Figure 1 shows a typical work piece used in this investigation and its boundary conditions. The scanning path is taken along the mid-width of the
plate (at x=L/2) along the y-axis. The laser beam is modelled as a moving
surface heat flux with small time increment. Commercially pure Ti sheet is
chosen as the work piece material. Temperature dependent physical properties are used to simulate the model [21, 22]. A 3-D free tetrahedral mesh
is used in this numerical modelling. A non-uniform mesh pattern is used
to minimize the simulation time and memory requirement by decreasing
the total number of elements. Due to high heat flux involved in laser path,
very fine meshes are used along the path of the laser beam. Coarse meshes
are used in other parts of the plate. Figure 2 shows, the mesh used for FEM
simulation.
The following assumptions are made to develop the model using FEM
method:
(i) Material properties of the work piece are isotropic;
(ii) The distribution of laser intensity follows a Gaussian mode;
(iii) Within the work piece, heat transfer takes place by conduction obeying
Fouriers law and heat loss by free convection and radiation are considered from the bounding surfaces of the sheet metal to the surrounding
air; and

FIGURE 1
Schematic diagram showing the simulation work piece and irradiation path.

 Numerical Methods for the Selection of Process Parameters for Laser

FIGURE 2
FEM mesh used for the modelling.

(iv) Melting is not involved in the work piece, so phase change and heat
generation are neglected.
2.2 Governing equations and boundary conditions
Due to laser heating a transient temperature field is generated based on the
mechanism of the heat conduction. The governing equation for heat conduction within the specimen can be written as

rc

T (r , t )
= kr (rT )
t

(1)

where r is the material density, c is the specific heat capacity, k is the thermal
conductivity, T(r,t) is the temperature r is the coordinate (m) in the reference
configuration, t is time and r is the gradient operator.
Material cooling occurs due to heat loss through natural convection and
radiation from its surfaces exposed to ambient air.
The convection and radiation boundary conditions can be expressed as

qconv = h(Ts To ) (2)

and

qrad = (Ts 4 To 4 ) (3)

where, h is the heat transfer coefficient, Ts is the sheet metal surface temperature, T0 is the ambient temperature, e is the emissivity and is the Stefan
Boltzmann constant.
The moving heat flux, Q, produced by the laser beam is applied on the top
surface of the sheet metal. In this work the laser beam is assumed to have a
Gaussian distribution and expressed as

P. Kalvettukaran et al.

Q=

2r 2

(4)
exp

2
2
pR
R

2 AP

where, A is the absorption coefficient, P is the laser power, R is the laser

beam radius and r is the distance of a point from the centre of the
laser beam.
2.3 Validation of the finite element method (FEM) model
To establish the reliability of the current simulation model, results are compared with published results of Jung [23]. The material used is Ship-building
steel 1.0584 (D36) for validation. The plate size and process parameters are
taken from their work for validation. Two temperature histories obtained
from the simulations are compared to the published results reported by Jung
[23]. Figure 3 shows the temperature distributions on the top surface of the
sheet metal when the laser beam is at its centre. Figure 3(a) and Figure 3(c)
correspond to laser power, P, of 1500 W; scanning speed, V, of 5.0 mm/s;
laser beam spot diameter, D, of 16.00 mm; plate thickness, S, of 6.00 mm;
whereas, and Figure 3(b) and Figure 3(d) correspond to P=3000 W, V=10.0
mm/s, D=16.00 mm, S=4.00 mm. Table 1 summarizes the input parameters,
the simulation results of temperature field and percentages of error for validation with the published work of Jung [23]. It is found that the temperature
fields achieved from the present simulations are in close agreement with
those of Jung [23].

FIGURE 3
Temperature distribution on the top surface at plate centre where (a) and (b) present for the
model, and (c) and (d) are from Jung [23].

 Numerical Methods for the Selection of Process Parameters for Laser

TABLE 1
Validation of temperature field.
Temperature at
Plate Centre (C)

Parameter
Laser
power
(W)

Scanning
speed
(mm/s)

Spot
diameter
(mm)

Plate
thickness
(mm)

Present
(ft)

Percentage
Error

Jung [23].
(fs)

(ft fs )
100
(fs )

1500

5.0

16.00

6.00

723

728

-0.69156

3000

10.0

16.00

4.00

878

844

3.76283

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Transient temperature fields of a plate
In this section the temperature distribution of commercially pure Ti sheet is
presented at different time intervals for P= 650 W, V= 5.0 mm/s, D= 2.50 mm
and S=1.00 mm. The plate size is taken as 100.00 mm 50.00 mm (L W).
Figure 4 shows the temperature distributions on the top surface of the plate
at three instances. During heating the peak temperature of 1688 K is reached
at the farthest point on the scanning line. After a time interval of 30 seconds
the temperature drops in the range of 315 to 360 K.

FIGURE 4
Temperature distribution at three instances where (a) the laser beam is at the plate centre, (b) the
laser beam is at plate end and (c) after 30 seconds when P=650W, V=5.0 mm/s, D=2.50 mm and
S=1.00 mm.

P. Kalvettukaran et al.

The maximum temperature histories along the scan line of the plate is
shown in Figure 5. It can be seen from Figure 5 that the temperature starts
rising gradually on the top surface and reaches a steady maximum along a
major part of its journey along the width of the plate. Afterwards, the temperature increases rapidly when the beam reaches near the top edge of the
plate. From Figure 5 it can be seen that a much higher temperature (1688 K)
is obtained at the end of the scan line compared to that at the beginning
(1125K). The reason for this is that heat from the incident laser beam and the
heat retained by the material behind the beam is flowing into the cold region
ahead of the beam, and as the beam reaches the edge the heat flowing ahead
of the beam cannot travel any further and so a heat build up occurs in the end
of the plate.
3.2 Response surface methodology (RSM)
In this section, again, the temperature distribution of commercially pure Ti
sheet is presented at different time intervals for P= 650W, V= 5.0mm/s,
D= 2.50mm and S=1.00mm. The plate size is taken as 100.0mm 50.0mm
(L W).
RSM is a set of mathematical and statistical technique that is useful for
empirical model and optimization. A model predicting the response for
some independent input variables can be obtained by conducting experiments
and applying regression analysis [11, 24]. If all variables are assumed to be
measurable, the response surface can be expressed as:

FIGURE 5
Graph showing the variation of local maximum temperature along the laser scan line.

 Numerical Methods for the Selection of Process Parameters for Laser

y = f ( x1 , x2 , x3 ,..... xn ) z (5)

where y is the response, f is the function of response, z is the experimental

error and (x1, x2, x3,....xn) are independent parameters. The application
of response surface method is to use a sequence of designed experiments
to obtain an approximate relationship between a true response and a
number of design variables, based on the observed data from the process or
system. The response is generally obtained from real experiments or computer simulations [15]. In the present work the response is collected from
numerical simulation for laser forming of Ti sheets after one laser pass. The
process parameters (low actual and high actual) and their symbol and units
are presented in Table 2. The plate thickness is considered as one of the input
parameters.
The numerical simulations are carried out according to the design
layout and the maximum temperatures of the plate as response are listed in
Table 3.
The model F-value of 142.50 implies the model is significant. There is
only a 0.01% chance that a model F-value this large could occur due to noise.
The ANOVA table of the quadratic model with other adequacy measures R2,
adjusted R2 and predicted R2 are listed in Table 4. The associated p-value of
less than 0.05 for the model indicate model terms are significant. The ANOVA
results show that the effect of P, V, D, S, the quadratic effects of the scanning
speed V2, spot diameter D2, plate thickness S2 and the two level interaction of
laser power and scanning speed, PV, laser power and spot diameter, PD
and scanning speed and plate thickness, VS are the most significant model
terms associated with the maximum temperature of plate. The other model
terms are not significant and, hence, those can be eliminated to improve
model adequacy. But, in the present study non-significant terms are included
in the regression equation as hierarchical terms. Deviation of values between
predicted results by regression equation and numerical simulation results are
less than 4.5%. The final regression equation has good prediction rate without
eliminating non-significance terms. Comparison plots are made between the
actual and predicted results, as shown in Figure 6.

TABLE 2
Process parameters and their units and limits.
Parameter

Symbol

Unit

Low Actual

High Actual

Laser power

450

650

Scanning speed

mm/s

5.0

15.0

Spot diameter

mm

1.50

2.50

Plate thickness

mm

1.00

2.00

10

P. Kalvettukaran et al.

TABLE 3
Design layout and numerically calculated response.
Process Parameters

Sample

Response

Laser
power,
P (W)

Scanning
velocity,
V (mm/s)

Spot
diameter,
D (mm)

Plate
thickness,
S (mm)

Maximum
temperature
(K)

450

5.0

2.50

2.00

1082

650

5.0

1.50

2.00

1958

550

10.0

2.00

1.50

1289

650

15.0

2.50

2.00

1096

650

15.0

1.50

1.00

1770

368

10.0

2.00

1.50

997

550

19.1

2.00

1.50

1116

650

5.0

1.50

1.00

2260

450

15.0

1.50

2.00

1305

550

10.0

1.09

1.50

1984

550

10.0

2.91

1.50

980

450

5.0

2.50

1.00

1311

550

10.0

2.00

2.41

1243

650

5.0

2.50

2.00

1371

450

5.0

1.50

2.00

1534

550

10.0

2.00

1.50

1289

550

10.0

2.00

1.50

1289

450

5.0

1.50

1.00

1761

650

15.0

2.50

1.00

1181

650

15.0

1.50

2.00

1669

550

10.0

2.00

1.50

1289

550

10.0

2.00

1.50

1289

450

15.0

2.50

2.00

868

550

10.0

2.00

0.59

1667

550

0.9

2.00

1.50

1953

450

15.0

1.50

1.00

1386

550

10.0

2.00

1.50

1289

450

15.0

2.50

1.00

938

650

5.0

2.50

1.00

1688

732

10.0

2.00

1.50

1554

 Numerical Methods for the Selection of Process Parameters for Laser

11

TABLE 4
ANOVA for response surface quadratic model.

Source

Sum of
Squares

Degree of
Freedom

Mean
Square

F-Value

p-value
Prob>F

Model

3475680.5

14

248262.8941

142.4999256

<0.0001

645561.36

645561.3587

370.5444824

<0.0001

807898.06

807898.0639

463.7238054

<0.0001

1557032.5

1557032.49

893.7179871

<0.0001

210762.45

210762.4528

120.9751218

<0.0001

PV

8556.25

8556.25

4.911184947

0.0426

PD

17822.25

17822.25

10.22975789

0.0060

PS

2450.25

2450.25

1.406414132

0.2541

VD

12.25

12.25

0.007031353

0.9343

VS

34040.25

34040.25

19.5386955

0.0005

DS

6.25

6.25

0.003587425

0.9530

P2

1410.3397

1410.339708

0.809518088

0.3825

V2

101250.37

101250.368

58.11649765

<0.0001

D2

60558.571

60558.57084

34.75989382

<0.0001

43681.116

43681.11635

25.07243723

0.0002

significant

Standard deviation=41.739629

R2=0.99253731

Mean=1413.5333

Adjusted R2=0.985572132

Coefficient of variation=2.9528578

Predicted R2=0.959443764

Predicted residual error of sum of squares

(PRESS)= 142020.37

Adequate Precision=48.56869825

FIGURE 6
Graph showing the comparison of actual and predicted results for maximum temperature.

12

P. Kalvettukaran et al.

The mathematical model for maximum temperature in terms of actual factors as determined by Design-Expert is given:
Tmax = 2486.67930 + 4.76588P - 96.68044 V - 1030.19362D - 797.64368S
-0.04625PV - 0.66750PD - 0.24750 P S + 0.35000 VD
D
+ 18.45000 VS + 2.50000DS - 8.2541110-4 P 2 + 2.79748V 2
+ 216.34959D 2 + 183.74483S 2

(6)

4DEVELOPMENT OF THE MATHEMATICAL RELATIONSHIPS

FOR SELECTION OF LASER PROCESSING PARAMETERS
4.1 Estimation of laser power needed to achieve a specific
temperature
In this section, we attempt to develop a mathematical relation to find the laser
power such that the maximum temperature reaches the specified maximum
temperature, PTmax (V,D,S) corresponding to known values of other process
parameters (V,D,S). The mathematical relationship, as given in Equation (7),
for finding PTmax (V,D,S) is derived from the regression Equation (6) which is
find out from statistical analysis.

PTmax =

bp + bp 2 4 a p c p
2a p

(7)

where

ap=-8.2541110-4 (7a)

bp=4.76588-0.046250V-0.66750D-0.24750S (7b)

and
cp=-(Tmax-2486.67930+96.68044V+1030.19362D+797.64368S
-0.35000VD-18.45000VS-2.500DS-2.79748V2-216.34959D2
-183.74483S2(7c)
The specified maximum temperature of the commercially pure Ti sheet is
assumed as 1941 K. The predictions of maximum laser power as obtained
from Equation (7) are compared with the FEM simulation for a few number
of process parameters to assess its accuracy. Results show that the FEM
simulation and prediction from Equation (7) are in good agreement. Comparisons of results are furnished in Table 5 and in Figure 7.

 Numerical Methods for the Selection of Process Parameters for Laser

13

TABLE 5
Comparisons of maximum temperature.
Percentage Deviation

Sample

Laser
Power,
P (W)

Scanning
Speed,
S (mm/s)

Spot
Diameter,
D (mm)

Plate
Thickness,
S (mm)

Equaqtion
(7)
(K) (fa)

FEM
(K)
(fb)

753.7168

15.0

1.50

1.00

1941

1954

-0.67500

546.8736

10.0

1.09

1.50

1941

1977

-1.83100

632.7047

5.0

1.50

2.00

1941

1924

0.87800

732.3225

10.0

2.00

0.59

1941

1976

-1.74600

753.7168

15.0

1.50

1.00

1941

1954

-0.67500

1063.1131

10.0

2.00

1.50

1941

1966

-1.25700

(fa fb )
100
(fb )

FIGURE 7
Graph showing the comparison of developed model from Equation (7) and the FEM model for
maximum temperature.

Figures 8(a) to (c) show the 3-D surface plots demarcating the attainment
of maximum temperature with varying combination of laser process parameters for 1.00, 1.50 and 2.00mm thick plates. It is observed Figures 8(a) to (c)
that more laser power is required for the material to reach the specified
maximum temperature when the scanning speed increases and the laser
spot diameter is kept constant. Similarly, when the laser spot diameter is
increased at a fixed scanning speed, more power is required to attain the same
maximum temperature. The 3-D surfaces in Figures 8(a) to (c) correspond to

14

P. Kalvettukaran et al.

FIGURE 8
3-D surface plots demarcating the attainment of maximum temperature with combination of
laser process parameters for CP Ti when S is (a) 1.00 mm, (b) 1.50 mm and (c) 2.00 mm.

 Numerical Methods for the Selection of Process Parameters for Laser

15

the melting point of CP Ti; hence, if one wishes to perform laser cutting or
drilling, one should choose a parameter combination which lies above this
surface. On the other hand, for jobs, such as laser bending, heat treatment,
shock peening, etc., one should choose a laser process parameter combination that would lie below the surface, such that the maximum temperature
does not exceed the melting point of the working substance.
4.2Estimation of scanning speed needed to achieve a specific
temperature
In this section, we attempt to develop a mathematical relation to find the scanning speed such that the maximum temperature reaches the specified temperature, VTmax (P,D,S) corresponding to known values of other process
parameters (P,D,S). The mathematical relation for finding VTmax (P,D,S) is
derived from the regression Equation (6) which is found out from statistical
analysis:

VTmax =

-bv - bv 2 - 4av cv
2av

(8)

where

av=2.79748 (8a)

bv=-96.68044-0.046250P+0.35000D+18.45000S (8b)

and
cv=-(Tmax-2486.67930-4.76588P+1030.19362D+797.64368S
+0.66750PD+0.24750PS-2.5000DS+8.25411 10-4P2
-216.34959D2-183.74483S2(8c)
The predictions of minimum scanning speed as obtained from Equation (8)
are compared with FEM simulation for a few number of process parameter
combinations. Results show that the FEM simulation and prediction
results from Equation (8) are in good agreement. Comparisons are furnished
in Table 6 and in Figure 9.
Figures 10(a) to (c) show the 3-D surface plots demarcating the attainment
of maximum temperature with varying combinations of laser process parameters for 1.00, 1.50 and 2.00mm thick plates. It is observed from Figures
10(a) to (c) that higher scanning speed is required for the material to reach the
specified maximum temperature when the laser power is increased and the
laser spot diameter is kept constant. Similarly, when the laser spot diameter is

16

P. Kalvettukaran et al.

TABLE 6
Comparison of maximum temperature.
Percentage Deviation

Sample

Laser
Power,
P (W)

Scanning
Speed,
S (mm/s)

Spot
Diameter,
D (mm)

Plate
Thickness,
S (mm)

Equaqtion
(7)
(K) (fa)

FEM
(K)
(fb)

(fa fb )
100
(fb )

650

10.3240

1.50

1.00

1941

1930

0.57000

550

10.1913

1.09

1.50

1941

1979

-1.92000

650

5.5731

1.50

2.00

1941

1930

0.59600

550

5.2597

2.00

0.59

1941

1985

-2.21700

450

3.2743

1.50

1.00

1941

1917

1.26300

732

4.1087

2.00

1.50

1941

1937

0.23200

FIGURE 9
Graph showing the comparison of the developed model from Equation (8) and the FEM model
for maximum temperature.

 Numerical Methods for the Selection of Process Parameters for Laser

17

FIGURE 10
3-D surface plots demarcating the attainment of maximum temperature with combination of
laser process parameters for CP Ti when S is (a) 1.00mm, (b) 1.50mm and (c) 2.00mm.

18

P. Kalvettukaran et al.

increased at a fixed laser power, scanning speed is required to be reduced to

attain the same maximum temperature.
4.3 Estimation of spot diameter needed to achieve specific temperature
In this section, we attempt to develop a mathematical relation to find the spot
diameter such that the maximum temperature reaches the specified maximum
temperature, DTmax (P,V,S) corresponding to known values of other process
parameters (P,V) and sheet thickness, S. The mathematical relation as given
in equation (9), for finding DTmax (P,V,S) is derived from the regression equation (6) which is find out from statistical analysis.

DTmax =

-bd - bd 2 - 4 ad cd
2 ad

(9)

where

ad=216.34959 (9a)

bd=-1030.19362-0.66750P+0.35000V+2.50000S (9b)

and
cd=-(Tmax-2486.67930-4.76588P+96.68044V+797.64368S
+0.046250PD+0.24750PS-18.45000VS+8.25411 10-4P2
-2.79748V2-183.74483S2(9c)

TABLE 7
Comparison of maximum temperature.
Percentage Deviation

Sample

Laser
Power,
P (W)

Scanning
Speed,
S (mm/s)

Spot
Diameter,
D (mm)

Plate
Thickness,
S (mm)

Equaqtion
(9)
(K) (fa)

FEM
(K)
(fb)

(fa fb )
100
(fb )

650

15.0

1.2971

1.00

1941

1981

-2.01918

550

10.0

1.0978

1.50

1941

1972

-1.57201

650

5.0

1.5429

2.00

1941

1925

0.831169

550

10.0

1.4946

0.59

1941

1942

-0.06693

450

15.0

0.8225

1.00

1941

1958

-0.86823

732

10.0

1.5091

1.50

1941

1971

-1.52207

 Numerical Methods for the Selection of Process Parameters for Laser

19

FIGURE 11
Graph showing the comparison of the developed model from Equation (9) and the FEM model
for maximum temperature.

The predictions of minimum spot diameter as obtained from Equation (9) are
compared with FEM simulation for a few number of process parameters.
Comparison results are furnished in Table 7 and in Figure 11.
Figures 12(a) to (c) show the 3-D surface plots demarcating the attainment
of maximum temperature with varying combination of laser process parameters for 1.00, 1.50 and 2.00mm thick plates. We can realize from the 3-D
surface plots that a larger spot diameter is required for the material to reach
the specified maximum temperature when the laser power is increased and
the scanning speed is kept constant. Likewise, when laser scanning speed is
increased at a fixed laser power, spot diameter is required to be reduced to
attain the same maximum temperature.

5CONCLUSIONS
In the present study, laser processing on commercially pure Ti sheet metal is
simulated and analysed, using finite element method (FEM) and response
surface methodology (RSM). In addition, mathematical models are devel-

20

P. Kalvettukaran et al.

FIGURE 12
3-D surface plots demarcating the attainment of maximum temperature with combination of
laser process parameters for CP Ti when S is (a) 1.00mm, (b) 1.50mm and (c) 2.00mm.

 Numerical Methods for the Selection of Process Parameters for Laser

21

oped for estimating the input process parameters such that the material temperature attains a specified maximum temperature and predicting the
maximum temperature attained when process parameters are known. It is
found that the percentage error between predicted results of developed mathematical models and numerical simulation are less than 2.5%, which gives an
assurance to use the developed model for laser processing of Ti with satisfactory precision for diverse operations, such as cutting, drilling, bending, shock
peening etc.

Acknowledgments
K. Paramasivan expresses gratitude for the grants received for his Senior
Research Fellowship under the State Government Fellowship of Jadavpur
University.

NOMENCLATURE
A
c
f
h
k
P
PTmax (V,D,S)
Q
r
R
r
t
T0
Ts
T(r,t)
y
(x1,x2,x3,....xn)

Absorption coefficient
Specific heat (J/kgC)
Function of response
Heat transfer coefficient 10 W/m2K
Thermal conductivity (W/mC),
Laser power (W),
Specified maximum temperature
Moving heat flux (W/m2)
Distance (m) of a point from the centre of the laser beam
Laser beam radius (m)
Coordinate (m) in the reference configuration
Time (seconds)
Ambient temperature (K)
Sheet metal surface temperature (K)
Temperature (K)
Response
Independent parameters

Greek symbols
e
r

z

Emissivity
Material density (kg/m3)
Stefan Boltzmann constant (5.6703 108 W/m2K4).
Experimental error

22

P. Kalvettukaran et al.

Mathematical operators
r
Gradient operator
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