Combustion Effects in Laser-oxygen Cutting: Basic Assumptions, Numerical Simulation and High Speed Visualization

Laser-oxygen cutting is very complicated for theoretical description technological process. Iron-oxygen combustion playing a leading role making it highly effective, able to cut thicker plates and, at the same time, producing special types of striations and other defects on the cut surface. In this paper results of numerical simulation based on elementary assumptions on iron-oxygen combustion are verified with high speed visualization of laser-oxygen cutting process. On a base of assumption that iron oxide lost its protective properties after melting simulation of striation formation due cycles of laser induced non self-sustained combustion is proposed. Assumption that reaction limiting factor is oxygen transport from the jet to cutting front allows to calculate reaction intensity by solving Navier - Stokes and diffusion system in gas phase. Influence of oxygen purity and pressure is studied theoretically. The results of numerical simulation are examined with high speed visualization of laser-oxygen cutting of 4-20 mm mild steel plates at cutting conditions close to industrial.