Modeling Laser-Induced Plasma Expansion Under Equilibrium Conditions

A theoretical investigation of the expansion of the plasma, produced by a nanosecond laser pulse hitting a titanium metallic target, has been carried out. The study is oriented to understand the interaction of the plasma plume with the surrounding gas (air) not only from the fluid dynamic point of view, but also considering the effects of chemical reactions. To this purpose, a 2-D solver of the Euler equations has been developed and self-consistently coupled with the local thermodynamic equilibrium calculation. The results show the plasma confinement due to the ambient gas and the appearance of metallic oxides in proximity of the plume border.