The Effect of Gravity upon the 'Melt-Through Time' of a Solid Subjected to a High Intensity Laser

摘要

An analysis was made of the effect of gravity upon the 'melt-through time' of a solid subjected to a high intensity laser. The analysis was accomplished by dividing a slab into a number of finite elements and performing an energy and force balance for each finite element, resulting in a computer-programmed mathematical model. Two metals, aluminum and titanium, each having a thickness of either 0.08 or 0.127 cm, were considered using absorbed peak intensities that ranged from 2,000 to 256,000 watts/sq cm. The effect of gravity upon the 'melt-through time' was found to be dependent upon the physical properties of the solid, the magnitude of the absorbed peak intensity, the thickness of the solid and, to a lesser degree, upon the type of distribution of the incident radiation. (Author Modified Abstract)