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The spectral characteristics of the thermal wake of a pulsating optical discharge (POD) in a supersonic air flow are studied. The POD is stimulated by radiation of a mechanically Q-switched, repetitively pulsed CO2 laser with a pulse repetition rate of 7 – 150 kHz and a power up to 4.5 kW. The flow is produced by means of the supersonic aerodynamic MAU-M setup having a conic nozzle with a critical cross-section size of 50 mm, the Mach number being 1.3 – 1.6. We describe in detail the system of optical diagnostics that allows the detection of the spectrum of the weak thermal wake glow against the background of high-power POD radiation. The glow of the thermal wake is due to the emission of light by atoms and ions of nitrogen and oxygen, carried by the flow in the form of hot low-density gas clouds (caverns). The wavelengths of the thermal wake emission and the data on the transitions, corresponding to the spectral lines are presented.

We report a comparative experimental study of laseroxygen cutting of low-carbon steel using a fibre laser with a wavelength of 1.07 μm and a CO2 laser with a wavelength of 10.6 μm at the sheet thickness of 3 – 16 mm. For the two lasers we have measured the dependence of the cutting speed on the radiation power and determined the cutting speed at which the surface roughness is minimal. The coefficient of laser radiation absorption in the laser cutting process is measured for these lasers at different values of the cutting speed and radiation power. It is found that the minimal roughness of the cut surface is reached at the absorbed laser energy per unit volume of the removed material, equal to 11 – 13 J mm-3; this value is the same for the two lasers and does not depend on the sheet thickness.

The results of an experimental study of laser-oxygen cutting of low-carbon steel using fibre and CO2 lasers are generalised. The dependence of roughness of the cut surface on the cutting parameters is investigated, and the conditions under which the surface roughness is minimal are formulated. It is shown that for both types of lasers these conditions can be expressed in the same way in terms of the dimensionless variables – the Peclet number Pe and the output power Q of laser radiation per unit thickness of the cut sheet – and take the form of the similarity laws: Pe = const, Q = const. The optimal values of Pe and Q are found. We have derived empirical expressions that relate the laser power and cutting speed with the thickness of the cut sheet under the condition of minimal roughness in the case of cutting by means of radiation from fibre and CO2 lasers.

We report a study of the wave structure formed by an optical discharge plasma upon the absorption of repetitively pulsed CO{sub 2} laser radiation in a supersonic (M = 1.36) air flow. Experimental data are presented on the configuration of the head shock wave and the geometry and characteristic dimensions of breakdown regions behind a laser plasma pulsating in the flow at a frequency of up to 150 kHz. The data are compared to calculation in a point explosion model with allowance for counterpressure, which makes it possible to identify the relationship between laser radiation and supersonic flow parameters that ensures quasisteady- state energy delivery and is necessary for extending the possibilities of controlling the structure of supersonic flows. (interaction of laser radiation with matter)

Processes of cutting stainless steel by ytterbium fibre and CO2 lasers have been experimentally compared. The cut surface roughnesses for 3- and 5-mm-thick stainless steel sheets are determined. The absorption coefficient of laser radiation during cutting is measured. It is established that the power absorbed by metal during cutting by the CO2 laser exceeds that for the ytterbium laser (provided that the cutting speed remains the same). The fact that the maximum cutting speed of the CO2 laser is lower than that of the ytterbium fibre laser is explained.

We present the results of investigation of the parameters of an optical pulsed discharge (OPD) and their relation with gasdynamic parameters of a supersonic flow and with characteristics of laser radiation. For the first time the discrete objects are detected in the OPD by an optical method, namely, low-density caverns moving along with the flow. The propagation velocity of the thermal track arising in a supersonic flow under the action of the OPD is measured. It is found that at a pulse repetition rate of 90 – 120 kHz the caverns unite into a single plasma jet.

Results of optimisation of repetitively pulsed CO2-laser generation are presented for finding physical conditions of forming stable burning of an optical pulsed discharge (OPD) in a supersonic air flow and for studying the influence of pulse parameters on the energy absorption efficiency of laser radiation in plasma. The optical discharge in a supersonic air flow was formed by radiation of a repetitively pulsed CO2 laser with mechanical Q-switching excited by a discharge with a convective cooling of the working gas. For the first time the influence of radiation pulse parameters on the ignition conditions and stable burning of the OPD in a supersonic air flow was investigated and the efficiency of laser radiation absorption in plasma was studied. The influence of the air flow velocity on stability of plasma production was investigated. It was shown that stable burning of the OPD in a supersonic flow is realised at a high pulse repetition rate where the interval between radiation pulses is shorter than the time of plasma blowing-off. Study of the instantaneous value of the absorption coefficient shows that after a breakdown in a time lapse of 100 — 150 ns, a quasi-stationary 'absorption phase' is formed with the duration of ~1.5 ms, which exists independently of air flow and radiation pulse repetition rate. This phase of strong absorption is, seemingly, related to evolution of the ionisation wave.

The energy balance in the laser-oxygen cutting of steel sheets of thickness 5 — 16 mm was investigated. The necessary expenditure of energy and the thermal efficiency of the process were determined for cutting parameters that provided minimal roughness (characteristic height of irregularities) of the cut surface. For the minimal roughness, the ratio between the components of the energy balance equation was determined to be independent of the sheet thickness. We also measured the oxidised iron fraction in the melt being removed.

A new method for organising the repetitively pulsed regime of CO2 laser oscillation at the expense of a self-filtering resonator and two concave cylindrical mirrors with equal curvature in the intracavity modulator is considered. The studies of the energy and temporal characteristics of the laser radiation show that the constructed laser has high efficiency close to that of a cw laser. The mean and pulse power of 4.5 and 200 kW, respectively, are obtained. For a wide range of gas-dynamic characteristics the possibility of the optical breakdown in the supersonic wide-aperture air flow is demonstrated. The coefficient of absorption of laser radiation in optical breakdown plasma in a supersonic air flow is investigated and its value amounting to 60% is obtained. For the first time it is found that the threshold density of air, corresponding to the efficiency jump, is equal to 1.8 - 2 kg m-3 and independent of the Mach number M = 1.7 - 3.7.

We report on the experimental optimisation of the oxygen-assisted CO2 laser cutting of low-carbon sheet steel 5 to 25 mm in thickness. It is shown that the cut edge roughness is minimal when the energy input per unit volume of the material removed and the incident beam power per unit sheet thickness remain constant at ~20 J mm-3 and ~200 W mm-1, respectively, over the entire range of sheet thicknesses examined. The corresponding Peclet number is Pe = 0.5. These results can be used to determine the optimal beam power and cutting speed for a particular sheet thickness. At sufficiently large thicknesses, the conditions that ensure the minimum roughness can be written in the form of relations between nondimensional parameters.

The possibility of quality cutting by radiation from a CO2 laser with an unstable self-filtering cavity (SFC) is experimentally investigated. The SFC provides the product of the divergence angle by the beam radius close to that for lower modes in a stable cavity (SC), however, at a higher radiation power, which favours faster cutting. In the far-field zone, the SFC beam has a diffraction structure with side maxima, which is usually considered as a negative factor in laser cutting. 25-mm-thick steel slabs have been cut. The comparison of the obtained results with known data on SC lasers shows that the principal characteristics of the cut (the width, edge roughness, specific expenditure of energy) are close in these lasers. A conclusion is made that at the chosen cavity parameters, the specific spatial structure of the SFC laser beam has no significant effect on the cut characteristics.

The effect of polarisation of a Gaussian beam on the radiation absorption during laser cutting of metals is investigated. A generalised formula is proposed for calculating the absorption coefficient, which describes the polarisation of three types (linear, elliptical, and circular), taking into account the fact that the beam may interact with a metal surface of an arbitrary shape. A comparison with the existing analogues (in the cases of linear and circular radiation polarisation) confirmed the advantage of employing the formula for the spatial description of the shape of the surface produced, which is highly important for processing (cutting, welding, drilling) of thick materials. The effect of laser radiation characteristics on the surface shape and cut depth in cutting stainless steel sheets is investigated numerically. It is shown for the first time that the cutting of materials by the TEM00 beam is most efficient when the beam has elliptical polarisation directed along the direction of beam displacement and characterised by a specific axial ratio.

The use of a self-filtering cavity in a laser makes it possible to obtain a high-quality high-power output beams. A maximum output power of 8.3 kW with an electrooptical efficiency of 11.3% is obtained. Estimates show that a high-quality beam with power up to 20 kW can be generated in electric-discharge CO2 lasers with a self-filtering cavity.

High-quality cutting of steel sheets of thickness up to 50 mm is performed upon a simultaneous action of laser radiation and a supersonic oxygen jet on the material. Parameters of the nozzle used for jet formation are determined by simulating numerically three-dimensional flows of a viscous and heat-conducting gas in a plane channel that is geometrically similar to the laser cut.