Laser cutting of laminated sheet material: a modeling exercise

Laser cutting has been investigated for a number of aluminum-synthetic laminates, newly developed materials for the aeronautic and automotive industry. The materials consist of alternating aluminum and synthetic layers. It is shown that these materials can be cut at rates comparable to those of homogeneous aluminum alloys. The cuts show little dross attachment. Also some damage on the synthetic layers has to be accepted. These results initiated a modeling exercise, which resulted in a numerical simulation code. The applied cutting model is based on describing the material in several horizontal layers, each with its own specific thermophysical and optical properties. The separate layers are coupled by known mass, energy and force balanced equations.