In recent years, much research has been devoted to understanding laser and arc welding processes in both the spot and linear welding operation modes. To date, both experimental and numerical techniques have been employed to study the fluid and heat flow interactions within the weld pool, with a strong emphasis on metal welding. In this paper, finite element techniques are used to compare laser welding of both metallic and ceramic materials. The results indicate that fluid flow is substantially more strongly coupled to the heat flow for ceramics, and that the large temperature variations in the ceramics make constant-property assumptions unrealistic for the ceramic case.
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