An analytical solution for a transient temperature field during laser heating a finite slab

• A general solution for a temperature field during laser heating process is given.
• Finite slab and general convective boundary condition are considered.
• The solution provides a suitable way to calculate the temperature at any given point at any given time.

This paper presents a general solution for the transient temperature field in a finite slab, when heated by a moving laser heat source. The analytical solution was solved by integral transform method. The eigenvalues were obtained by the method of separation of variables. In the presented model, finite region and general convective boundary conditions were assumed. Meanwhile, experiment and FEM simulation were performed as a verification under a specific case. For the experiment, a continuous wave YAG laser system was used to scan an aluminum sheet, and temperature histories at various points were logged for comparison. For the FEM simulation, a 3D transient heat transfer model was adopted with a subroutine to implement the moving laser beam. The results showed that the analytical solution was consistent with both the experimental data and FEM simulation.