Search

Laser pulses were applied to a target mounted on a ballistic pendulum to study the momentum imparted by a laser shock impact. Photonic Doppler Velocimetry was used to assess the momentum imparted by each laser pulse. To increase the momentum produced, a layer of polymer transparent to the laser wavelength was applied to the surface of the targets to confine the plasma generated as a result of the laser–matter interaction. This yielded momentum coupling coefficients one hundred times higher than those obtained for equivalent laser parameters in the classical direct regime configuration. The study was completed by simulating the experiments with the one-dimensional Lagrangian hydrodynamics code ESTHER, which showed good agreement with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser ablation propulsion and orbit cleaning are developing areas of research. The general aim of laser-based techniques applied to this field is to maximize the momentum transfer produced by a laser shot. This work presents results from ballistic pendulum experiments under vacuum on aluminum, copper, tin, gold, and porous graphite targets. The work has focused on the metrology of the laser experiments to ensure good stability over a wide range of laser parameters (laser intensity ranging from 4 GW/cm 2 to 8.7 TW/cm 2 , pulse duration from 80 ps to 15 ns, and wavelengths of 528 or 1057 nm). The results presented compile data from three experimental campaigns spanning from 2018 to 2021 on two different laser platforms and using different pulse durations, energies, and wavelengths. The study is complemented by the simulation of the momentum from the mono-dimensional Lagrangian code ESTHER. The first part of this work gives a detailed description of the experimental setup used, the ESTHER code, and the treatment of the simulations. The second part focuses on the experimental results. The third part describes the simulation results and provides a comparison with the experimental data. The last part presents possible improvements for future work on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the study of the shock wave propagation through aluminum alloys (pure aluminum and aluminum 2024-T3) produced by laser plasma using experimental and numerical tests. Water confinement regime interaction, pulse duration (7.2 ns), and power density (1–5 GW / cm 2) range correspond to laser shock peening process configuration and parameters. To that scope, we simulate the shock wave propagation using non-linear explicit code LS-DYNA, which we validate with experimental results. Thereupon, we present a descriptive analysis that links separately the material model and loading conditions to the dynamic response of aluminum alloys under high strain rate laser shock by coupling the Johnson-Cook (J-C) material model with the Grüneisen equation of state (MAT_015 and EOS_GRUNEISEN accordingly). In addition, we make use of stress propagation into target thickness to analyze the origin of different points on the Back Face Velocity (BFV) profile during shock propagation. Finally, we provide evidence that 2D compressive effects do not depend only on the focal spot size or target thickness such as the edge effects but also on power density and material initial yield strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]