Popis: |
Laser polishing, in its simplest form, is the melting of a small layer of material via laser radiation. This creates a small molten pool which is re-distrusted across the surface, resulting in a much smoother finished surface. Although this process has been around for decades now, there has been a recent insurgence into industrial applications. Despite this, the phenomena that occur during the process are still not fully understood. Therefore, increasing the knowledge surrounding the process would be ideal. To accomplish this, various input parameters of the process are altered to analyze the effect on the finished polished surface. Through this technique, it becomes possible to predict the width of a polished track as well as the formation characteristics of the process. Also, through the implementation of a thermal imaging camera, the thermos-physical behavior during the laser polishing process can be analyzed. The combination of these various studies vastly increased the understanding of the process as a whole. Also, the possibility of real-time monitoring and control is introduced, which would have vast industrial impact. |