An analytical model for calculating the temperature distribution and determining the laser forming mechanism

Abstract

Analyzing Laser Forming is computationally expensive, both using analytical and numerical methods. This makes it impractical to quickly determine what bending mechanism will occur for certain scanning parameters without significant simulation time, or actual experimentation. To address this, a new computation method was developed to compute the analytical point-source temperature field using Quasi-Monte Carlo, which reduced the computation time from days to minutes. Using the generated temperature field and a simple spring model based on a model to predict residual stress formation in welds, it was possible to quickly determine the bending mechanism (Temperature Gradient, Coupling, or Buckling mechanism) for different scanning parameters. The simulation results agreed closely with experimentation for SUS304 samples, especially when the absorption coefficient was improved and controlled using a black coating.