Laser heating of sheet metal and thermal stress development

Lasers are widely used in modifying metallic surfaces. During the laser heating process, thermal stresses develop in the region heated by a laser beam. In the present study, laser heating of sheet metal is formulated analytically and thermal stress field is obtained using a finite element method (FEM). It is found that laser scanning speed influences considerably temperature and stress fields. In this case, increasing laser scanning speed reduces temperature in the region away from the centre of the laser heat source. Stress components are compressive in the region close to the source; however, it becomes tensile in the region away from the heat source.