Solidification analysis of micro-scale metallic particles in the laser supersonic heating technique

In this paper, the authors analysed the solidification phenomenon in the laser supersonic heating technique used for producing metallic particles. A mathematical model was established to predict the velocity, temperature and solidification situation of metallic particles leaving a spray nozzle. The numerical analysis method was used to simulate the flow field structure of shock waves and to proceed with related experiment. In the experiment, a pulsed Nd-YAG laser was used as the heat source on a carbon steel target within the nozzle, and carbon steel particles were ejected by high pressure air. The solidification problem of carbon steel particles with radii of 1-50 μm in the compressible flow field was calculated and compared with experimental results. The result shows that the shock wave flow fields are generated at different entrance pressures (3-7 bar), and there is no significant difference in the radii of carbon steel particles produced by a fixed laser energy; however, in the flow field without the shock wave effect, the cooling effect is less evident in the solidification process.